Learning to Love
by TheChippedCup
Summary: TF:P. Everyone thinks Ratchet is the war hardened, Human hating Autobot medic. But can one little four year old change all that? Or will Ratchet refuse to say that he's getting a soft spot for the Human? Has been moved up to T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Ideas were popping inside my head again :) Tell me what you think.**

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><p>"<em>MIKO<em>!"

The Asian girl simply snickered at the medics anger. What a brilliant prank she had made on him, probably her best yet! She snuck to the corner of the room, right where an angry Jack and a fearful Raf stood. The teenager looked at Miko with fury in his eyes, and grabbed her by the arms. "Do you know what you just did?" He growled, shaking her slightly. She simply rolled her eyes at him, and was just about to answer when something picked her up by the waist, and next thing she knew, she was facing an enraged Autobot who looked about to blow a circuit.

"MIKO!" He snapped, and that seemed to be the only thing he could manage to say. Miko looked at his chest, and held back a burst of laughter. There, painted on his chest plate, was a pink bikini, and her and Bulkhead had even painted the ends of his fingers pink. "Who did this with you!" He demanded, regaining his speech. Miko simply crossed her arms, and shook her head. Ratchet gritted his teeth at her, and shook her slightly, making her feel dizzy. "_WHO_?"

"Bulkhead! Who else did you expect Doc?" She questioned. "It isn't that bad you know. If you just slimmed down you'd be ready for bikini season." Ratchet was just about ready to squish the little Human in his servo, when a hand was placed on his shoulder plate. The CMO looked up to see the face of Optimus.

"Old friend, is this really necessary?" He said, and Ratchet looked to the floor in shame. "Miko will get her punishment, I will make sure of that, but you Ratchet, go wash yourself off outside." Optimus said, looking him over once more. Ratchet sighed, and set Miko down, and gave her once last death glare before stomping out of Base, grumbling old Cybertronian under his breath. All those Human kids annoyed him greatly, but Miko, Miko had a,_ special_, place on his hate list, and that was a _long_ list. Why had they have to see them fighting? The medic could have been lounging around, organizing his tools undisturbed, peaceful and happy. But of course. They just had to come.

He transformed into his alt mode once outside, and drove towards the town. He had never actually taken one of those, 'car washes', but he had seen them before, and they looked quite enjoyable. Jack usually waxed Arcee once in a while, and she said it was like a massage, but Bulkhead had once gone through the car wash, and said it was like going through an entire spa! Could Ratchet use one of those.

The medic drove up to it, grumbling even louder at the line he had to wait in. Well, it actually wasn't that bad of a line, but he was tired, and in a very, _very_ bad mood. Finally, he reached the front, and drove into the tunnel. First, he was blasted with water, which was cold and refreshing, next her was scrubbed down with soap, which felt strange against his metal hide. He was scrubbed back down with water, which he groaned in pleasure at. Bulkhead was right, it did feel like a spa. He could see people looking at him through the large window on the side, though one face seemed to be sticking out more than the rest.

A small Human Sparkling peered through the window, several other older children rolling their eyes at the child as she pressed her face against the window. It was probably his appearance, since he was an emergency vehicle, but the child's stare was starting to annoy him. He simply ignored her until he got out into the parking lot. He felt clean and happy for once, sparkling in the sunlight. He sighed in content, and felt him limbs beginning ache. How long had he been in vehicle mode? He didn't exactly go out of Base a lot, and his body still wasn't used to changing into his alternate form.

He drove away from the car wash, and drove towards the front, but before he could even get out, a Human ran in front of him, blocking his path. And he recognized her as the same small Human in the window. She blocked his path, and walked towards his side, tapping. "Excuse me mister." She said in a small voice that made him slightly more annoyed, if that were even possible. "The big kids says you're a doctor. I don't like doctors very much, but I wanna be one when I grows up." Ratchet could barely stand all the grammar mistakes she was making. "Can you show me how to be a doctor?" She questioned, rocking on her heels as she looked at his door with big emerald green eyes.

Ratchet mentally rolled his optics at her. "No. I'm very busy. Now buzz off." He growled, revving his engine. She simply stood there, looking up at him with pleading eyes. Ratchet knew this was what Human adults considered, 'cute', her dirty blonde hair barley past her shoulders, most of it flowing into her face. But, he wasn't a push over, no way no how. He had had enough of Human children today. A beam of light shot in front of him, and Ratchet felt his body tense. In front of prowled to purple cars, edging closer and closer to him. Decepticons.

Why today, of all days? He knew this was how Jack and Arcee had met, and really didn't want the Human Sparkling prodding at his door to become his responsibility. He was too bust being a medic to become a Guardian at the same time! But he had no time to think, and all his processer said to do was grab the girl and go. And opening his door, his seatbelts sprung away from the seat, and entangled the toddler as the seatbelts pulled her into his interior. She was too shocked by the action to scream in fear, and froze up in the leather seat, eyes darting from side to side.

Ratchet skidded forwards, almost crashing into the 'Cons. He needed back up, or at least to get out of the town and loose the 'Cons. Driving down the street, he set off his sirens, and the cars around immediately pulled over, letting him through. How he now loved his alt form. He was going past 50 miles per hour right about now, and he just kept going higher. He didn't need gas, he ran on energon, so he could go on for some time. But so could the 'Cons. He had gotten out of the town, and though it was barely out of sight, the troopers behind him transformed, running after his alt form.

Ratchet cursed under his breath, and transformed, the girl flying out of him as he did so. Ratchets fists tightened into a ball, and he looked towards the Decepticons in front of him. "Decepticons." He growled. The drones just stared at him blankly, raising their weapons, and Ratchet put a digit to his helm.

_-Ratchet to Base, come in Base-_ His voice sounded urgent, and he hated that.

_-Ratchet, is everything alright?-_ Arcee said, probably after hearing the sound of gunfire.

_-I'm currently under attack, I'm in need of backup!-_ Ratchet yowled in pain as one blast hit his knee, making him topple over.

_-We'll be right there-_

The comm ended, and Ratchet snarled towards the Decepticons, who blasted him further. Ratchet felt the blasts hit his hide, and grinded his teeth in pain. Before he could even try to get up, he felt cold metal touch his helm, and looked up to see the 'Con had placed his gun right onto his head. "HEY!" Ratchets optics flicked towards the source of the voice, and his optics widened in surprise. The Human stood in front of him, chest puffed out in bravery. "You leave him alone you, you big BULLY!" She spat, and Ratchet wished he could have face palmed right about now.

The other 'Con looked towards her, and walked towards her. Now the girls bravery had vanished, and she cowered away in fear at the giant red eyed monster. It's shadow casted over her, and reached out towards her. She ran away, hiding behind a large boulder, though it really didn't do her any good. Ratchet watched as the Decepticon holding him down watched his teammate, and swiftly got out his blade, stabbing him in the chest. The 'Con paused for a moment before falling over, energon pouring from his chest plate. Ratchet looked towards the 'Con, ready to fight him, but found Arcee and Bumblebee had already taken care of the problem, letting him scramble away.

Ratchet walked over to them, and Arcee put her hands on her hips, looking at him irritably. "Really Ratchet, really?" Ratchet cocked an optic ridge at the femme, who simply rolled her own. "Look what Bee found." Ratchet looked over, and groaned even louder than before. Bumblebee stood a few feet away from Arcee, toddler sitting in her servo. Bumblebee actually wasn't looking at Arcee or Ratchet, but was making soft whirrs towards the girl, and she was actually _answering_.

Bumblebee made several beeps and whirrs, and she smiled. "My names Sophie." She said, and pointed towards him. "Who are you?" Bumblebee answered with several whirrs, and she giggled. "That's a funny name." She pointed over to Arcee. "And who's she?" Bumblebee answered with another short beep. "Oh, and him?" Bumblebee answered once more. "Oh, hi Watchet!" She said, waving over to him. Bumblebee chuckled at the way she said his name, and Arcee couldn't help but let out a short laugh at it as well.

Ratchet simply crossed his arms. "It's _R_-atchet. Not, _W-_atchet." He growled. Sophie cringed back a little at his angry voice, and Bumblebee brought her to his chest plate, glaring at Ratchet. Arcee gave him the same glare, giving his arm a small slap. Ratchet rolled his optics at her, and Arcee simply ignored him, looking towards Sophie.

"And how old are you sweetie?" Ratchet could barely believe his audio receptors at the sound of Arcee's voice. She'd never spoke in such a kind tone to anyone in her entire life cycle. Sophie slowly counted her fingers, and held out four small fingers to the femme, who smiled. "Wow, you're a big girl." She said, and Sophie nodded excitedly. "Can you just come with us Sophie?" Arcee questioned, and Sophie nodded again.

With that, Bumblebee set her down, and all three transformed. Though Bumblebee had his door open, Sophie ran over to Ratchet. "I wanna sit with Watchet." Sophie rocked on her heels, and Ratchet reluctantly opened his door, allowing her to climb in. Once inside, Ratchet placed the seatbelt over her chest, and began rolling back to Base, right behind Arcee and Bumblebee. "Watchet, where we going? Watchet, what are we doing? Watchet, what-?"

"No more questions until we get back to Base." He snapped, and Sophie quieted down then, and Ratchet felt a small tinge of guilt, but he couldn't take anymore of her questions, he had a headache as is with all the thoughts of what Optimus might say. Yes, Miko, Jack, and Raf knew of their existence, but Sophie was barely out of her toddler age, Primus, she was still a toddler! Could she keep the secret? And what worried him more, what would Agent Fowler do when he found out? He'd been mad enough when he found out about the three, but what would he say to Optimus about this one?

Ratchet sighed, mentally shaking his head as they entered the Base. Bulkhead stood chatting with Miko, probably about something along the lines of either Slash Monkey, or monster trucks. Jack and Raf sat on the couch, tongues stuck out in determination as they played against eachother in a racing game, and Optimus stood near the entrance, looking at Ratchet with concern. "Are you alright Ratchet?" He questioned.

Ratchet breathed in deeply. "Optimus, I have a surprise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, didn't think this story would get so much so attention :) And to ratchetxme, I would never hate on Miko. I love her, and don't get why people hate on her. She makes the show more interesting, if it were just Jack and Raf, not much would happen :P But anyway, Chapter 2!**

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><p>Optimus cocked his head to the side at the medic, noticing he wasn't transforming. "Ratchet, is everything alright?" He questioned, and looked to Bumblebee and Arcee, who had transformed already. "What is wrong with Ratchet?" When neither Arcee nor Bumblebee answered, Optimus looked back down at Ratchet, who had gone oddly silent. "Ratchet?"<p>

The medic slowly opened his door, and everyone starred as a four year old hopped out of his cab, eyes looking straight at Optimus. "Wow, your big." She said. Jack had dropped his remote. Raf had kept his remote in his hand, but his jaw had slacked down it looked ready to fall off. Miko starred wide eyed, leaning against Bulkheads shoulder. Arcee and Bumblebee simply looked to Optimus, who starred calmly down at the child. Ratchet transformed, shame in his optics as he looked down at the ground. This would just cause Optimus more trouble, and he never wanted to give his leader more things to worry about with a war on his hands.

But, much to Ratchets surprise, Optimus was not angry, or frustrated, but bent down, and smiled at the girl, who walked up to him, eyes wide and full of curiosity. "Yes, I am quite big, aren't I?" He said kindly. "My name is Optimus. Now little one, now that you know who I am, do you know what I am?" Sophie looked at him, and rocked on her heels.

"Uh, a robot." She said, looking back to Ratchet for a moment before looking back to Optimus.

Optimus let out a small chuckle, and shook his head. "I am an Autobot, or as you said, a living robot." He explained. Optimus knew he couldn't explain it to her like he had to the others, her small mind couldn't handle it, and she would probably barely understand half a word he had said. "But I am a very special robot. I am a, 'alien', as you Humans call it." Sophie's eyes went wide at this. She'd watched E.T. several times, and knew that aliens were from another planet. And knew what people did to aliens. But she had always shielded her eyes when they were examining his body, all grey and wrinkled. The first time she'd watched the movie, she had had nightmares about that part.

"You're an E.T?" Sophie said in disbelief. Optimus cocked his head to the side at this, and looked up to see Miko rolling her eyes.

"It's this old movie about an alien." She explained, and Optimus nodded, quickly searching up the movie. Once done, he looked down to see the Human youngling no longer in front of him, but walking up to Miko, who simply crossed her arms. "And they're not E.T.'s, they're Autobots. Alien robots from another planet." Sophie simply blinked. "Say it with me. AU-TO-BOT." Miko said slowly. "They're aliens. Like, aliens, not from Earth." Miko knew she wasn't getting it, but tried. She sighed, walking back towards Bulkhead. "Never mind."

Sophie simply shrugged slightly, and walked back to Optimus. "Now that you know about us youngling," Optimus began. "You cannot tell anyone." Sophie nodded, though slightly confused. Why couldn't she tell someone? She saw nothing wrong with them, why'd she have to keep a secret. "Do you promise?" Optimus snapped her out of her thoughts, and she smiled.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Sophie said, making an X right across her heart. She was little, but she could keep secrets. The older kids always gossiped, and she would always keep the secret, but naturally, the so called 'secrets', would get around. Optimus smiled, and stood up, looking to Ratchet who had gone to check the screens. Optimus carefully stepped over the girl, and walked towards Ratchet, placing a servo on his shoulder.

"Ratchet, she will now be your charge." Ratchet simply grunted in response, clearly annoyed by the statement. "Come now Ratchet, it won't be that bad. The rest of the Autobots have their own charges, it will make no difference if you get one." Optimus chuckled, patting as his shoulder as he walked away. "It could do you some good old friend, you could learn a thing or two from a Human."

Ratchet didn't want to say anything but he secretly wished that Optimus could take the child instead of himself. Ratchet simply groaned, trying hard to ignore the child at his feet. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the three Guardians leaving with their charges. Ratchet turned, hands on his metal hips. "And where exactly are you going?"

"Out to do stuff. Me and Bulk are going to driving around." Miko said, legs dangling as she sat on Bulkheads shoulder. Ratchet rolled his optics at the girl, knowing the phrase, 'driving around', meant doing dangerous stunts, and coming back with dents and scratches.

"Me and Bee are going back down towards town to check out the new release of this game." Raf said, excitement in his, and Bumblebees eyes.

"Gotta go to work." Ratchet nodded towards Jack, seeing a good, responsible reason for him to leave. Ratchet turned back to the screen, and heard them leave. Ratchet looked down to see Sophie, poking his foot curiously. "Okay, let's get some things straight." Ratchet bent down, picking her up by the scruff of the neck. "No sneezing, no poking, no talking, no humming, no wriggling, no asking me questions, no sighing, no moaning, no whining, and most important, **_DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING_**!" With that, Ratchet set her down on the couch in the corner, getting back to work.

Sophie looked at Ratchet for a moment, cocking her head to the side. Why was he so mean? She hadn't done anything wrong. Had she? Shuffling around, she got off the couch, and walked towards the edge of the metal balcony, looking at a very focused Ratchet. "Ratchet." The medic simply grunted in response. "Are you mad at me?" Now Ratchet looked down at her.

"No, I am not mad at you, I simply don't like Humans." He said, looking back to the screen. "They usually give me headaches." Sophie looked down, and sat down, watching Ratchets fingers as he typed. She looked up to the screens to see wavy things on there, and that reminded her of the ocean, and the ocean reminded her of water, and water reminded her of…..

"Watchet I gotta go potty!" Ratchet jumped in alarm at the voice, and looked at Sophie to see her crossing her legs, wriggling around as she bit her lip. "I _REALLY_ gotta go potty Watchet!" She squirming even harder. Ratchet looked at Sophie for a moment, and blinked. What did, 'potty', even mean?

"What's a, 'potty'?" He questioned, and Sophie let out a whine.

"I gotta pee! I'm gonna explode!" Sophie cried. Ratchets optics widened in realization. He knew what she meant now. But explode? Could Humans actually do that? Shaking off the thoughts, he picked her up, and quickly ran towards the Humans bathroom, fearing that she would lubricate on his servo, dropping her off at the bathroom door, she ran in, and slammed the door shut. Ratchet shook his head, and stood at the entrance, tapping his foot impatiently. He heard a flush, and the click of the lock unlocking, and out came a relieved looking Sophie.

"Now, are you finished?" He said, and Sophie nodded with a smile. Her constant smiling was starting to irk him, and he was suddenly wondering if Miko was right when she said he hated everything happy. Maybe that was true…But, he couldn't bother thinking about it right now. The alarms had suddenly gone off, and had scared Sophie so bad she looked ready to wet her pants. She flung herself onto Ratchet leg, though the medic almost threw her off as he ran towards the scanner, and groaned. His worst nightmare.

Agent Fowler had just arrived.

Ratchet looked down at Sophie. "Don't move, and keep quite." He ordered, and Sophie nodded, clinging harder to his ankle. Ratchet watched as the black man came from the elevator, looking frustrated and tired as usual. He leaned against the railing, and opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry Agent Fowler, but Optimus is currently on patrol." Ratchet said before the man could speak.

Fowler looked at Ratchet a moment longer, and grumbled under his breath. "Does he know what's been going on in Pennsylvania? While he's been lazing around, the 'Cons have been stealing priceless relics? They stole the Liberty Bell! How are we supposed to cover up that?" Fowler demanded, pounding his fist against the rails.

"I will inform Optimus of this information." Ratchet said as calmly as he could. Sophie was starting to squirm on his ankle, and he felt the sweat forming on her small hands. Fowler starred at him suspiciously, but turned his back on the mech, walking back towards the elevator. Ratchet stood there until he knew the Human was gone, he lifted his foot, Sophie dropping right onto the ground on her bottom. Ratchet scanned his ankle, and saw that none of her sweat had gotten onto his armor. Good.

Sophie looked at Ratchet, then to the elevator, then back at Ratchet. "Who was that man? What was he talking about? Where's Pennsylvania? What's a 'Con? Who's-?"

"Did your parents ever tell you you ask too many questions?" Ratchet said, optics narrowing at her. But Sophie shook her head. "They should." He grunted, and looked back to the scanner.

"But they can't." Ratchet looked away from the scanner for a moment, and looked down to Sophie.

"And why is that?"

"Because they went up to Heaven."

Ratchets optics widened at that, and looked down at the girl, who sat cross legged, and simply looked at Ratchet without sadness. Ratchet knew what Heaven was, which made him shocked by her facial expression. It was where Humans supposedly went when they offlined, _died_. Miko had her host parents, and real parents in Japan, Jack had his mother, and Raf had his rather large family, but Ratchet didn't know how to respond to that.

"The big kids at the orphanage said that Heavens all the way up there, and that they have birdy wings so they can fly." She said, and Ratchet simply shuddered his optics. "My daddy liked robots, he was a, a mechna….mechnic….." Sophie searched for the word.

"Mechanic." Ratchet said, voice sounding a bit distant.

"Yeah, that. He would have liked to see you Watchet." She said, and touched his foot again, though Ratchet didn't say a word. "Mommy didn't have no job though, she always stayed at home with me. Then, when daddy went to work, me and my mommy were at home, mommy got really scared 'cause it was getting dark, so she went over to daddy's shop." Sophie paused for a second, looking at the ground. "She left me at home, and I waited at home a long time, until these big police men came." She explained. "They said my mommy wasn't coming home, said she was going away up to Heaven for a long time."

Ratchet cocked his head to the side slightly. Did she not understand they were dead? He now knew her parents had been murdered in some sort of way, but it seemed she didn't get that her parents were never coming home. Ratchet felt his spark soften for her, and bent down, gently picking her up in his servos. "Sophie," She looked him right in the optics. "I don't think their ever going to come home." The girl just blinked at him, and walked over to the edge of his servos, touching his faceplate.

"Then will you be my daddy?"

Those words hit Ratchet right in the processer, and a voice in the back of his head was going, "Go dump her back over to whatever orphanage she came from, and forget this day ever happened!" But, he and Optimus had raised Bumblebee back on Cybertron, and the same thing had happened to him. The little yellow Sparkling that once was Bumblebee had asked him the same question when they told him his creators had died. But Ratchet snapped back to reality, and shook his head. "No, I cannot be your, 'daddy'. I am simply your Guardian Sophie." He stated, and Sophie blinked at him.

"Okay Watchet." She said, giving him a smile. "I like you as a Guardian." Ratchet simply rolled his optics at her, and heard the sound of tires. The medic looked over his shoulder to see Optimus walking towards him. Sophie waved at him. "Hi Otmus!" The Prime simply smiled at the name, and looked to Ratchet.

"Optimus, we need to talk." Ratchet said, and set Sophie down on the ground, shooing her off to wherever else there was to go. Once alone, Ratchet sighed. "Optimus, I found, interesting news about Sophie." He said, looking away from his leader. "It appears that her parents were murdered." Ratchet flicked his optics towards Optimus, who's optics had gone slightly wide, then away again. "I do not know how long ago, but I don't think it was recently. But don't say anything, she doesn't exactly know that their dead." Optimus cocked an optic ridge at him, but nodded. Ratchet nodded towards him, not saying a word about her asking him to be her father. He would tell him later, but not right now.

Optimus turned, and walked towards Sophie, who sat on the couch as she reached her hand in through the cracks of the cushions. Optimus reached the railing, and Sophie looked back at him, and jumped off the couch, running over to meet his face. "Sophie, it appears that you will be staying with us until we get everything figured out." Ratchets jaw dropped as Sophie looked overjoyed. He thought they were just going to take her back, not keep her here! He couldn't take a Human being here 24 hours a day! He could barely take them if they stayed for more than one hour! She would be here all day, seven days a week, too much for the medic. And worst of all, she was getting attached to him, and he feared he would get attached to her.

"But Optimus-" Ratchet cut himself off, not wanting to say anything against his leader. Primes word was law, and Ratchet lived by that. The medic simply turned back to the controls, wishing, hoping, that Fowler wouldn't be coming anytime soon. Then he would be getting his aft whooped. But, as long as the Human Sparkling was here, he would be nice. Or at least try.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wait, she's staying with us?"

Ratchet simply rolled his optics at the two mechs and femme. Optimus nodded in confirmation towards Arcee. "Yes. I feel that if she goes back to whatever orphanage, the Decepticons could easily get to her, that, and I do not think they would allow a toddler to go in a strange vehicle every day." He explained, and the three nodded. Ratchet felt something cling into his ankle, and he didn't even need to look down to know who it was. Sophie had been rather clingy to him after that one question she had asked.

"Hi Watchet." Sophie said, making Arcee and Bumblebee do a small "Aw!" as Bulkhead looked at Ratchet with a smirk. Ratchet snarled at them, and looked down at the small Human as she snuggle into his leg. What made it worse, their three Human had friends were there as well. Miko laughed at Ratchet, who was too busy handling his own Human charge to deal with her. Jack and Raf tried to hold back their own laughter at it, nudging eachother as they exchanged glances.

"Oh Ratchet, I knew you were just a big softie." Miko teased. Ratchet shot her a glare as Bulkhead walked over, giving her a fist pump. Ratchet looked away, and took Sophie in his servo, and with his head high, walked out of the room, and into the hallway. He would not take any more criticism, he was a respectable mech, and no Human could change anything about him. _No matter how cute_. Ratchet stopped. Did he actually just think that? Miko was right. He was getting soft. _No._ Ratchet thought, shaking his head. The girl wouldn't get to him, no matter what.

"Watchet." He looked down at the Human in his hands. "I'm hungry." Sophie started to rub her empty stomach.

Ratchet groaned. First she had to go to the bathroom, then she was thirsty, then she had to go to the bathroom again, then she was thirsty, and went to the bathroom, _again. _Now she was hungry? How did Human adults deal with these things? Ratchet turned, and walked towards Bulkhead, who had Miko on his shoulder. Ratchet pulled out Bulkheads servo, and dropped Sophie in it, looking extremely agitated at this point. "You know about Humans, don't you?" Bulkhead scratched his head slightly. "Give her something to eat."

With that, Ratchet walked off, leaving behind a extremely confused Bulkhead. Sophie looked up at the giant mech, waving at him and Miko. "Hi!" She said enthusiastically. Bulkhead looked to Ratchet wishing he could hand the kid back, but he knew that the medic was frustrated as is, and giving her back would probably be like poking an angry wasps nest.

"Uh, Miko, where do you usually go to eat?" Bulkhead questioned, turning his head towards his shoulder. The girl thought for a moment, closing one eye as she put a finger on her chin, tapping it lightly. She smiled, snapping her fingers.

"McDonalds!"

Sophie knew that place, and smiled. That clown guy, Ronald was there, from what she saw on the tv. Plus, she had once had McDonalds, and it was really good. Sophie nodded hungrily at Miko, and Bulkhead set the two down, and transformed, opening his doors. Miko cried, "SHOTGUN!" And hopped in the front, while Sophie managed to scramble into the back, Bulkheads height causing her trouble. His doors closed, and seatbelts strapped down on each girl. Miko pointed forwards. "Off to McDonalds!" She said, acting as if they were heading into battle. Bulkhead rolled out of Base, heading towards the Base. Sophie looked out the window, and Miko looked back at her.

"So you're staying with 'Bots right?"

Sophie nodded.

"Cool! Now, first things first, you gotta know how to deal with them." She leaned back further, reaching a hand towards Sophie's ear as the little girl leaned towards her. "They can make you a little crazy at times."

"_HEY_!"

Miko chuckled at her friend, and went back into her seat, though still looked at Sophie. "Here's the rules. Number one, don't ask Prime silly questions. Turns out he doesn't know how to handle kids." She said. "Rule number two, Arcee doesn't do girl talk, like _ever_. Tried talking to her, she didn't really respond. Rule number three, Ratchet doesn't like people touching his stuff. Yeah, sure, he may be your Guardian, but one time I touched his wrench, he went ballistic." Sophie heard Bulkhead chuckle at that. "Rule Number four, Bumblebee is a really nice guy and all, but he cannot be trusted with any secrets. I told him about this one prank I was about to pull on Ratch, and when the Doc Bot asked him what I was up too, he spilled."

Miko smiled, flicking her eyes to the dashboard. "And rule number five, don't let 'Bulk sit on you, or step on you. We were at a monster truck rally, and I was just sitting on the edge of the high bleachers, when this guy comes up and decided to take a cool off from his, 'pretending to be a monster truck', stunts. If I didn't call out, I would have been wedged up his rear end right now."

"It was an accident, I said sorry…" Bulkhead fumed. Miko just laughed, and went back into her seat, pointing out the window.

"There! Over there 'Bulk! The golden arch of goodness!" She exclaimed, and the car turned towards the directed way, going into the drive through area. Miko peeked her head out the window, looking at the menu.

_"How may I help you?"_ The voice came from the speaker next to them, though it seemed to startle Bulkhead, because he leaped away from it with a small yelp. Miko glared at the dashboard, muttering "Big Baby", under her breathe as she leaned over out of the window towards the speaker.

"Yeah, I'll have a cheese burger, medium fries, two chocolate milkshake, and a kids meal." Before the guy could say anything, Miko went on. "Oh! Wait one sec dude, I gotta see if my friends want any." The guy sighed, and Miko flipped open her phone, dialing the number as she put the phone towards her ear. "Yeah Jack, we're at McDonalds, you want anything? No no! Not the McDonalds over there! Not the creepy one! The McDonalds over here! The one near my house? Yeah, that's the one we're at, so you want anything? Wait, you're on a diet? Dude, your already skinny enough as it is! No, I didn't mean it like that Jack! I just mean that your already skinny, not that you're not like, muscular or anything. Ugh, never mind! What do you want from McDonalds?"

Miko nodded several times, and was about to put away her phone, when she put it back towards her ear. "What, does Raf want anything? Wait, he wants what? Jack, I can't get that many! I don't care if his brothers and sisters will want some, he'll just have to share! Fine, fine, I'll get him that many, but when Fowler comes and yells at me for buying so much stuff with government money, I'll just blame you. What? He so will believe me! It doesn't matter if he thinks you're a good kid, you were the one who told me to get this stuff!" Miko sighed, and closed her phone, much to the relief of the growing line behind them.

"Yeah, a little change of plans." The guy in the speaker groaned rather loudly, and so did every car behind them. "Yeah, now I'll have two chocolate shakes, one cheese burger, a kids meal, and 12 plain burgers, with 3 cokes, 4 sprites, and 4 fantas. Plus 12 medium fries." Everything went silent. Sophie had gone wide eyed, knowing that that was a lot of stuff, even though she could barely count. "Uh, you still there?" Miko questioned, leaning forwards a little more.

_"Please move forwards towards the window."_

The guys voice sounded kinda distant, and Miko plopped down back in her seat as Bulkhead drove forwards, and the woman at that window looked tired, and completely unaware to even look to see only a fourteen year old girl and a four year old were just in the car. "That'll be fifty nine dollars and ninety nine cents." She sound, voice very irritating. Miko simply dug into her pocket, and brought out a wad of fifty dollar bills, even a few hundreds here and there. Miko pulled out a hundred from the stack and gave it to her. The woman didn't even look at what it even was, just waved them through.

Bulkhead drove towards the last window, where an twenty year old guy waited, bags of food in his hands. "Have a nice day." He said, handing them their order, several bags full in fact. The guys eyes widened for a moment at Miko. "Wait, there's no driver…"

Miko's own eyes widened, and looked at the dashboard. "He knows too much! DRIVE BULKHEAD! DRIVE!" Bulkhead drove the heck out of there, making Miko and Sophie clutch their seats just to stay in place. Once they were out of town and back on the road towards Base, Miko fist pumped the air. "That was so much fun! I never even knew you could go that fast!" She exclaimed. "Watch out 'Cons! 'Bulks the fastest, biggest 'Bot you'll ever see! And it'll be the last thing they'll ever see!"

"That…was…so…COOL!" Sophie exclaimed, and Bulkhead let out a small groan. One Miko was enough? But now Sophie was shaping up to be another? Was Ratchet gonna love this…"Bulkhead was so fast! I've never ever been in something this fast! It was just so cool." Miko and Sophie let out a shriek of excitement as they entered the Base, finding Raf, Jack, Arcee and Bee inside. Miko quickly handed Sophie her kids meal, and both hopped out of the car, arms full of McDonalds bags, warm and good smelling.

Well, it smelled good to most.

Just as the Humans began to eat their burgers, Ratchet stomped in, sniffing around. "What, is that horrid smell!" Ratchet didn't even need an answer, he knew when he looked down at the Humans stuffing their faces. "Do you know what your eating?" He questioned, pointing towards Jack who was starting on his fries.

"Uh, a burger?"

"Wrong! You are eating junk! Grease filled, fatty junk!" Ratchet growled. "From my scans, it's barely even beef!" He said crossing his arms as he stuck his nose towards the air. Miko rolled her eyes, stuffing her face even more. "That stuff will make you sick! And I do not want four Humans groaning and moaning from stomach aches." He went on, though they just tried to ignore him. Arcee crossed her arms, walking over to Ratchet.

"Their fine Ratchet, what's the worst that could happen?"

**XXX**

"Oh, my stomach!"

Jack clutched his stomach, laying on his back on the ground, Miko the same. Raf laid down to join them, Sophie already next to him, feeling ready to throw up. They had eaten most of Rafs families food, and it was coming back to them, full force. "It tasted so good, but feels so bad!" Sophie rolled onto her stomach, face against the cold metal. Raf nodded in agreement, groaning even more as her stomach made an awful noise.

Ratchet walked up to them, a smug look on his faceplate. "I told you so!" He sneered. Miko looked up at him with a glare, and snarled at the medic.

"Oh shut up."


	4. Chapter 4

Four days. That was how long Sophie had been staying with them, and how long they'd kept their little, secret, away from Fowler. Ratchet had been tempted a few times to drop her off at the first gas station they stopped at when she had to go to the bathroom, but was slowly coming to warm up to her. Currently, Miko, Jack, and Raf had gone home for a good nights rest, Sophie laid on the couch, yawning. It was 10:30 P.M, much too late for someone her age. Optimus watched her from afar, watching as she tried to stay awake, though her eyes drooped, and she stretched out her limbs. Optimus looked over to Ratchet, who had just finished checking the perimeter on the scanner. "Ratchet," The medic looked up. "I think someone is ready for some recharge." Optimus flicked his optics towards Sophie, who was starting to nod off. Optimus smiled at this, and Ratchet managed a small smile. Ratchet nodded towards Optimus, and walked towards the metal platform.

Sophie saw Ratchet come next to her, her vision blurry because of her heavy eyelids. Ratchet gently nudged her side with a digit, getting her attention. "Sophie, it is time for you to go to sleep." He said softly, and Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead looked at the medic in surprise. They barely ever heard his voice like that, it was usually either full of annoyance, either that, or he was yelling. Sophie nodded, and rubbed her eye, curling up on the couch.

But the silence was short lived. The alarms went off again, and Sophie nearly fell off the couch. Before Ratchet could hide the girl, Fowler came stomping out of the elevator. "PRIME! Do you know-!" Fowler cut himself short, eyes on Sophie as she looked at him, fully awake. Fowler snapped his head towards Optimus, who looked at Fowler calmly. He knew this would happen eventually. "Are you serious Prime! Three wasn't enough? Now you've brought another in on this war? And what is she, 4, 5? I allowed those three because they were responsible, older, and would be able to keep the secret. But this! You've crossed the line!" He snapped.

"Agent Fowler, you do not fully understand-" Optimus began.

"Oh, I think I understand just fine." Fowler growled, and walked towards the couch, grabbing Sophies wrist. "And I'm sure her parents are worried sick! Probably already called the cops!" He growled, and Sophie looked at Ratchet with a confusion. Before Fowler could re-enter the elevator, Optimus put his servo in his path.

"Agent Fowler, let me explain." Fowler stared at the mech, but nodded slowly. "We have kept her here because she has nowhere else to go. You see, her parents are, no longer with us." Optimus tried to sugar coat it, and Fowler let go of Sophie, though put a hand on her shoulder. "I feel that if she goes back to her orphanage, the Decepticons could easily capture her, and that they would not let a child of her age go out every day in a strange vehicle." Fowler did see reason there…"As you can see Agent Fowler, we do not have many options of what to do."

Fowler fully let go of Sophie, who looked up at him curiously, and Optimus took away his servo. "Okay, I'll allow this, for now." He said, and went towards the elevator. "But, I'm gonna find her some Foster Parents, and when I do, she's coming with me." With that, Fowler was gone. Sophie blinked, and everything was silent for a moment.

Bulkhead clapped his hands together. "Well, night everyone." He walked over to the hallway, going to his quarters. Bumblebee beeped towards the others, walking after Bulkhead as he head towards his own quarters. Arcee didn't even say anything, just headed off to her quarters. Optimus nodded towards Ratchet, and walked to his quarters. Which left the two.

Ratchet watched as Sophie climbed back onto the couch, curling herself back up on the cushions. Ratchet walked over, flicking off the lights. He began to walk over to the hallway. "Night night Watchet." Ratchet paused, and looked over his shoulder.

"Good night Sophie."

"Love you."

Ratchet didn't say anything, he didn't even move. Those words were strong ones. He'd actually never heard anyone say that to him before, and it touched his Spark. Ratchet remained frozen in his place for a second more, before heading back towards his quarters. The medic was in a daze as he got onto his berth, trying to fall into recharge.

**XXX**

Sophie jolted awake, breathing heavily as tears streamed down her cheeks. Another nightmare. Wiping her tears away, she hugged a cushions tightly. Her nightmares were always about that man, that very, very bad man. She hadn't told Ratchet about him, she was the secret keeper. The man told her not to tell anyone, and she didn't want to make the man mad, she didn't like it when he got mad. He was scary when he got mad.

Sniffling, she hopped off the couch, and walked down the stairs, running as fast as she could towards the hallway because she was afraid of the dark. The dark reminded her of the man. Looking in each room, she walked quietly into Ratchets quarters, looking up at the sleeping mech. She walked towards the edge of his berth. "Watchet."

Almost immediately, Ratchets optics onlined, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, looking around as his optic adjusted to the lighting. "Sophie?" Ratchet called, and looked down to see a teary, frightened four year old. Ratchet scooped her up in his servos, standing up fully. "Sophie, why are you up? It's one in the morning." Ratchet said.

Sophie sniffled. "I had a nightmare Watchet, it was really scary." Sophie trembled all over, and Ratchet knew whatever she had dreamed up had frightened her quite a bit. He sat back down on his berth, and shifted around his arms to cradle the young child, who nuzzled against his warm armor. His stone cold Spark was slowly thawing for her, a warm feeling spreading throughout his entire body. He watched as Sophie closed her eyes, falling asleep in his arms.

Ratchet had never felt like this before, it was strange to him, foreign almost. He sighed, looking down at the Human in his arms, sleeping soundly, not even fazed by the fact he could easily crush her. "Ratchet." The medic looked over in surprise. Optimus was at the entrance of his quarters, looking at him with a smile. The medic sighed as Optimus walked towards him, settling down next to the medic.

"Optimus…" Ratchet sighed heavily. "I'm becoming, attached, to her. I can't let Agent Fowler take her away from me Optimus, I just can't." Ratchet looked away in shame, realizing his feelings. "She touched my Spark Optimus. I-"

"I understand Ratchet."

Ratchet looked at Optimus in shock. "Wha-What?"

Optimus looked down at Sophie. "All of the Autobots have formed their own bonds with their Human charges Ratchet. But yours is special, something they could never form. You and I raised Bumblebee, and I saw how you took immediate charge of him, raising him as your own. I know you miss being a parent, and I know you never wanted any children, but Ratchet," Optimus placed a servo on his shoulder. "She needs you, and I think you need her."

Ratchet looked at Optimus in the optics, then back at Sophie. He looked down at her thoughtfully, and shook his head. "It'll never work Optimus, Agent Fowler will never allow me to keep her." Ratchet looked away. "Promise me you won't say anything to the others, they'll pester me till I blow a circuit." Optimus chuckled, and nodded, getting up off the berth and walking towards the door."Thank you Optimus." Ratchet said as he left.

Ratchet looked down at Sophie, thinking, reflecting. When he had first met, the medic hadn't wanted anything to do with the Human, but now, he was more than happy to do anything for her. He wouldn't let Fowler take away the only thing he loved. He would delay him as long as possible. Sophie was now his child, and nothing and no one would take her away from him. He would fight now. He would fight because he would have something to fight for.

* * *

><p><strong>So we're gonna see who, 'The man', is. in the next few chapters. No, no. It's not, the government type of man, you hippies. And I just love doing Ratchet Sophie fluffy moments :D It makes me happy! And I've been wanting to do this one since a while now, so yeah...But I hope you enjoyed Chapter 4! :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Sophie stuck out her tongue, muscled tense, all of her concentration and will power being used. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead, and she tried hard not to sneeze. She wouldn't give up! She couldn't when she was so close to winning. She leaned closer, trying hard to avoid twitching her eye. But, she wouldn't help it.

She blinked.

Jack high fived Miko, the ref, and Bee and Raf chatted from afar. Sophie crossed her arms, putting her nose to the air. "Not fair." She pouted, slumping over. Jack had challenged Sophie into a starring contest, and she had accepted. They had been starring at eachother for two minutes straight, and Sophie's eyes were watering, along with Jacks.

Miko shook her head. "Hey, I'm ref. I say what's fair and what's not. And I say that Jack won fair and square." Miko plopped herself onto the couch, picking up a controller. "Now, who wants to try and beat me at racing?" She gave Raf a glance, holding up another controller. The twelve year old smirked, and walked over, taking the controller with a smug look. Miko looked at him suspiciously. "Hey, what's with the face?"

"Bee's been showing me all the moves. I know about fifty new moves that would blow your mind." Miko rolled her eyes, and held the controller in her hand tightly, starting the game. Raf looked just as determined. Ready, Set…

Before the game could even begin, the alarms of Ratchets computer began to blare, and the medic rushed over, typing fast on the keys. The Autobots came next to Ratchet, looking at the screen. Miko, Jack, Raf and Sophie ran towards the edge of the metal platform, leaning against the railing to see what was going on. Ratchet typed furiously, and looked towards Optimus. "Decepticon signal." That was all Optimus needed to hear.

Ratchet knowingly opened the groundbridge, and Optimus looked towards his readied warriors. "Autobots, roll out!" They transformed, and sped out towards the groundbridge. But, of course something just had to go wrong. Miko ran down the stairs, and towards the bridge. Jack, extremely annoyed by the girl, ran after her, calling her name. He had pulled Raf by the wrist, dragging him along with them, and Sophie, not wanting to be left out, ran after the them, the four going right as the tunnel closed.

The four children entered a raging battle, Decepticon verses Autobot. The 'bots didn't even notice as the four slipped behind a rock, watching as they fought. Bulkhead punched his way through several Decepticons, and Miko jumped out from behind the rock. "Yeah! You go 'Bulk!" All optics went on the girl, and Jack face palmed, trying to pull her back into safety. Optimus touched the side of his helm.

"Ratchet, are any of the children still at Base?"

_"I can't find any of them Optimus! Wait, they're there? Are you serious?"_

"Very. Send an immediate ground bridge." Optimus began to fight again, and Bulkhead rushed towards the kids, fending off any more upcoming Decepticon soldiers. Miko looked at the battle with extreme excitement, Jack was trying to hold her back from going out from behind the rock so she wouldn't get squished, Raf was behind Jack, trying to see what was going on, and Sophie looked the whole thing with confusion and curiousity. Why were they fighting? She knew big kids fought a lot, but it looked like they were actually trying to hurt eachother by the way they struck at one another, and getting out their weapons as they blasted at one another.

Sophie, unnoticed by the three older children, slipped away from the rock, walking out from it, but not into the battle. She walked along the side lines, eyes widening as they collided again, metal smashing against metal. But she hit against something hard and large, and Sophie fell backwards rubbing her head. Looking up, she saw a red mech starring down at her in surprise. He wasn't fighting anyone right now, it seemed he had been watching the Autobots fight the Decepticon troopers. "Human." He growled, waiting for her to scream and run back to whichever Autobot.

But, Sophie didn't, and she stood up, blinking at him curiously. She didn't know what the Decepticons were, and didn't know the difference between them. From what she knew, every robot was an Autobot. Actually, she barely knew the meaning of Autobot. "Oh, hi mister." Danni waved at him, much to his surprise. "I'm Sophie, who are you?"

Knock Out looked down at her for a moment, and smiled slyly. She didn't know who she was, and she apparently didn't know what he was. He could easily capture her, ransom her back to the Autobots. Or, even better, offer her up to Megatron as a pet. Either that, or he could simply kill her. No, that would be no fun, and he would get nothing out of it. Knock Out bent down, trying to get on her level. "I'm Knock Out. Are those your Autobot friends?" Knock Out pointed towards the fighting Autobots, and Sophie nodded with a smile. "Perfect.." He purred.

A swirling blue portal appeared next to the Autobots, and they began to run in. But, Jack paused at the beginning of the tunnel, looking around frantically. "Sophie? Guys, Sophies not here!" the Autobots stopped in their tracks, and looked back to see a smiling Knock Out, Human in his grasp. Sophie struggled in his grip, though he just squeezed harder to get her to stop. Optimus came out of the portal, confronting the Decepticon, blaster out as he pointed it at Knock Out.

"Put the Human down." Optimus snarled, his voice was strangely calm, yet intimidating. Knock Out looked at the small, frightened Human in his servo, then back at the Prime.

"I don't think so."

Sophie struggled within the 'Cons grasp as Optimus tried to make Knockout let her go. Now she knew why adults always told you not to talk to strangers. Or strange robots. Or anything, well, strange. Sophie looked at the portal, wishing for her mommy or daddy. No, right now, she just wanted Ratchet. "Watchet." She whimpered, trying hard not to wheeze.

"Optimus," All eyes and optics went towards the sound of the voice. Ratchet was coming through the groundbridge. "You know, I can't keep this thing running all-" Ratchet starred wide eyed at the sight in front of him, and Sophie managed a smile, though it hurt. The medics optics hardened, and he snarled towards Knock Out. His anger boiled inside, and he came towards Optimus' side, pulling out his weapons. The younger Autobots starred at him in disbelief. He had never looked so angry in his life! "Knock Out, put her down." Ratchet stepped forward. "_NOW_!"

The Decepticon medic snorted. "Oh, like you could ever do any-" Knock out was cut off as Ratchet lunged at him, bringing him down. Ratchet punched his faceplate, and kneed him in the gut as he punched further. Knock Out loosened his grip from the surprise attack, and Ratchet grabbed Sophie, dislocating the red mechs servo in the process. Knock Out growled in pain, and Ratchet stood up, and placed a shaken Sophie on his shoulder. Knock Out glared up at Ratchet, and Ratchet scowled down at Knock Out. "I see you've found your own Human pest." The 'Con spat. Ratchet snarled even harder, and kicked him in the gut as hard as he could, leaving him winded once again.

Ratchet turned to see an extremely surprised Optimus, optics wide as he retracted his battle mask to show his slightly open mouth. The rest of the Autobots were the same, starring at the old medic in shock. Miko's mouth had dropped right open, Raf slouched over, his glasses on the ground because they had fallen right off his face. Jack simply starred as Ratchet walked past, right into the groundbridge and into the Base. The others slowly followed, still shocked from what they had seen. He had been more vicious than when he had been on synthetic energon.

Ratchet calmly set Sophie down, and transformed, opening his door. "Get in." He said, and Sophie climbed into his cab, the door closing as he strapped her in. Before the others could even see him go, he went exited Base, driving onto the dirt road. "What were you thinking?" Sophie cringed at the sound of his angry voice. "You never, I mean _never_, trust a Decepticon!"

Sophie shuffled around in the seat, knowing she was in big trouble. She looked at the dashboard with teary eyes. "I'm, I'm sworry Watchet, I, I didn't know he was bad, he sounded nice." She whimpered. Ratchet sighed. There was a small silence. "Watchet?"

"I'll let it go, only this once though." Ratchet warned. "Just, just don't ever scare me like that again, I'll probably have a Spark attack next time."


	6. Chapter 6

**After many breakdowns of what to do, it's finally finished! Chapter 6! Now to start on Chapter 7...**

* * *

><p>Ratchet growled under his breath, trying to get the blasted Earth tech to work, while Arcee and Jack chatted amongst themselves, the loners as usual. Raf and Bee played a videogame, the young boy trying hard to beat his Guardian, as Miko and Bulkhead were watching a creature feature marathon on tv, just getting even more excited as people got maimed. And all the while, Optimus sat, staring down at Sophie as she drew things with crayons on the floor.<p>

Optimus looked down at the small girl with thoughtful optics. She was so clueless, so innocent, so oblivious to their war. All she knew was that Decepticons were bad, and she had learned that about 2 days ago. She had barely experienced the world, had barely began to live , and yet now, she was caught in between an eon aged war, and she barely even knew. Optimus put her fist under his chin, looking at their other three Human friends. They had an output on the world, and knew what war was like, having learned about their own earthly wars on their world, but once, they had experienced what their war was like. Ruthless, unforgiving, full of losses. Arcee knew what loss meant better than the rest.

But, Sophie, like the others, had become part of this war by accident, a simple yet consequential mistake. Another one to look out for, to look after, and by what Ratchet had done just a few days ago, by how he had protected his charge, Optimus knew the youngling was in good hands. The others were a bit suspicious of why the medic was being so soft around her, not being as grumpy as usual, of why he had looked ready to kill Knock Out when he had Sophie, but Ratchet just told them he was just as protective over his charge as they were to their own, and that was that.

But, what made Optimus curious was how she had tamed the usually raging medic. Maybe, it was her innocence. Many thought that innocence meant they knew nothing about the world, but, it meant they could see the truth without looking at the small details between. Sophie saw the true Ratchet, the one that was kind, the one that cared, the one that would protect her. Whether it was scary monsters from her imagination, or the real monsters the fought, Ratchet would protect his youngling.

Sophie looked up from her drawing, looking at Optimus with narrowed eyes, then went back down to scribbling on the piece of paper. Optimus noticed this, and leaned in closer to see exactly what it was she was drawing. But, seeing his shadow begin to loom over her, Sophie brought the drawing to her chest. "I can't look at it till I'm done." She said strictly, and Optimus gave a small roll of his optics as he backed off. Sophie nodded towards him, and set the piece of paper back on the cold floor, laying down on her belly. Several minutes past, and Sophie sat up, looking down at the picture proudly. "Done!" She announced, and turned it over to show the huge mech her drawing.

Optimus leaned very close to the picture, and a small smile crept onto his faceplate. Although it wasn't the best piece of artwork he had ever seen, it looked like what Miko doodled sometimes. But, it was nicer then the mischievous teenagers, which usually involved one of the 'Bots either fighting off some 'Cons, or holding out some kind of weapon. But, Sophies made him smile. It was him, smiling, an emotion he didn't show very often. Sophie looked at her picture, and then back at Optimus with a big smile. She was proud of this one, she had tried her hardest to color his shape in the lines.

"It's, it's beautiful Sophie." Prime said, smiling down at the small Human youngling. He laid his hand on the ground, and Sophie hopped on, letting the mech lift her up to optics level. Sophie looked at his clear blue optics for a second, then looked back down at his hand, and set down the drawing in his palm.

"Here, you can have it." She said, patting it gently down on his servo. Optimus looked down at the simple piece of paper, and his smile became a bit larger. Sophie wasn't his charge, but, the girl was special in a sense, to him and to Ratchet. Most would just look at the paper, insignificant in every way, thank the small child who made it for them, and place it somewhere until they forgot who it was from and threw it away. But, Optimus savored things like this, times that he could look back on, times that had filled him with happiness. "Otmus, can I go talk to Watchet?" Sophie questioned, rocking on her heels.

Optimus carefully placed his servo back down on the ground, letting the small child hop off and run towards her Guardian. Though, she must have went a little too fast, because the next thing Ratchet knew, he felt something small bounce off his foot, and when he looked down, he saw Sophie carefully rubbing her head, but quickly got up. Ratchet looked away from her, and went back to working. Or at least tried.

"Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watchet, Watche-"

"_What_?" Ratchet snapped, looking down at her. She was more annoying than the Twins! Both sets actually. Multiplied by a hundred. Sophie looked up at him, and shied away a small bit, rubbing her foot against the ground as she stared at the floor. Ratchet sighed, and bent down, and gently nudged her in the back. "What did you want to ask me Sophie?" He said much more calmly this time. Sophie looked at the ground, then back up at Ratchet.

"I just wanted to go get my Woobie…" Sophie trailed off.

Ratchet tilted his head to the side. "Your whatie?"

"My Woobie. He's big and fluffy, and brown. He's got big floppy ears, and a cute little white tail, and he's really soft." Ratchet searched for such a creature on the web, and found a small creature called, a rabbit. "Mommy gave him to me when I was really little, and I really miss him." Sophie said. Her Woobie would help her sleep at night, he made her feel safe. He smelled like buttercups and lilies, just like her mommy's dresses had smelled. But, she needed Woobie the most when the man got scary, and started to hurt the others.

She didn't like it when he hurt the others, she would hear them cry and scream in pain, and she felt so bad for them. But, she would snuggle up to Woobie as she had done a million times, and try to block them out. She didn't like when the man got angry at her, he would hurt her like the others, only he would try to do it worse. The man would bring home big glass bottles, and drink them all and become very sleepy. But that was when he was at his worst, when he was sleepy and acting weird.

"Where exactly is this, 'Woobie'?" Sophie snapped out of her thoughts, and looked up at Ratchet.

"Uh, back at the orphanage."

Ratchet sprang up, and shook his head. "No, absolutely not! I will not be endangering our cover just to get you your, 'Woobie"." Ratchet said, crossing his arms over his chasis.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Hmm, let me think about-NO!" Ratchet protested, and Sophie pouted. Ratchet was a tough medic, and wouldn't fall for her cuteness. Sophie didn't want to do this, but the medic left her no choice. Time to bring out the big guns. Her eyes went large, her lower lip came out just the slightest, and she made a small whimper noise. Ratchet looked at the face for a moment, and he looked away, groaning. He'd broke. He was getting too soft, and he hated that. Growling to himself, He walked over to the groundbridge, tapped a few keys, and flipped the switch.

Sophie watched in awe as the large swirling circle of purple, green and blue appeared, eyes widening a fraction. Wow, it was pretty. Sophie turned as she heard the sound of shifting parts, only to see a red and white emergency vehicle sitting slightly impatiently for her, door open and engine revving. Sophie skipped over to him, and scrambled into his leathery seats. Ratchet shut the door, put a seatbelt over her chest, and drove into the groundbridge. Sophie looked around, star struck. This was better than any car wash! They exited the large swirling tunnel, to be on a dusty road. Sophie looked around for a moment. "Watchet, how'd we get here?" She questioned curiously.

"By groundbridging. It's how we Autobots get all around the world, quickly and efficiently. It's a teleporter, made by my own design. Although it cannot send us into space, or outside Earths atmosphere, it allows us to be teleported into any place on Earth." Sophie cocked her head to the side in confusion, and Ratchet sighed. "You want to know how it works?" She nodded. "See, everything is made up of atoms, which are so tiny no microscope on Earth can see them. When you go through a groundbridge, all your atoms are split apart, and thrown into a different place, forming back into your original shape."

"Oh…what?"

"Never mind…."

Ratchet came to a halt at a grey building. It had iron gates in the front, dead plants everywhere, dirty windows, and a bit of the edge of the building was beginning to crumble. Ratchet didn't like this place at all, it made him feel uneasy and on edge. Sophie didn't seem too fond of the place either, and Ratchet scanned her to see her stress levels had risen greatly, her heart was pounding quickly, and he saw as the small child slowly curled back a little bit. "Sophie, are you alright?" Ratchet questioned. Sophie gulped down her fears, and shook her head.

"No.." Her voice made it more obvious that something was wrong. Ratchet knew something had happened in that horrible place, something that was frightening. Something that he was going to find out. Driving past the gates, he went towards the side of the building, and carefully transformed, Sophie ending up in his palm. Putting a digit over his lips, Ratchet signaled for her to be silent, and as a response, Sophie pretended to zip her lips. She pointed towards a window, and Ratchet knew she meant that that was the window that led to her room. Lifting her over to the old, yet open window, she climbed through. Looking around, she saw it was exactly the way she had left it. Incredibly dirty.

Tip toeing over to her, 'used-to-be-bed', she smiled broadly as she saw Woobie. She picked him up, and cuddled him close to her chest, smelling the top of his soft furry head as his feet dragged on the floor. He still smelled like buttercups and lilies. But, as Sophie stepped back towards the window, the floorboard made an awful creaking noise, and she froze in place. Her blood ran cold as heard someone coming up the stairs, already knowing who it was. The man.

The man slammed open the door, and his cold eyes searched the room until his eyes laid onto poor little Sophie, who trembled with fear as she tried hard to reach the window. The man snarled at her, and stomped over to her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her off the ground. "You little brat! You thought you could run away from me?" He snapped, and Sophie felt tears streaking across her face. "You're my property you little piece of crap! You thought you could just run away from me, but look what you came back for," He snatched Woobie out her hands, and Sophie wailed harder as she tried to reach out for her bunny. "This other piece of crap!" He growled.

The man dropped Woobie, and struck Sophie across the face, leaving a nasty looking bruise. Sophie screamed, trying to kick the man in the gut, but to no avail. "Watchet! Watchet! Help me Watchet!" Sophie cried at the top of her lungs, kicking as hard as she could now. The man sneered, and struck her again.

"Who's 'Watchet'? One of your stupid make belief friends?" He laughed, which made Sophie shudder. The man raised his hand again to smack her again, but before he could even move, the wall broke apart, showing the face of an enraged medic, hot air coming out of his vents. Out of shock, the man dropped Sophie, and the small girl snatched up her Woobie, and in tears, ran towards Ratchet, clutching her bruised, swollen face. Sophie ran up to Ratchets faceplate, and buried her head in the smooth metal. Ratchet placed her on his shoulder, but sent a death glare towards the man, who stood in place, shocked. "You..wha..I…" He murmured.

Ratchet brought his hand into the room, and pinned the man down. "I swear, if I ever see you near her again, I will chop off your head, and rip out your eyes just to make sure you never get to see another day." Ratchet barked, and the man nodded nervously. Ratchet pushed his finger harder against his chest, making him wheeze, and finally, brought it back, walking away from the large hole in the wall. He wasn't worth the threat, he wasn't even worth killing. Well, at least not by an Autobot. Maybe Ratchet could bribe one of the Decepticons to do it….

But, he would have to think about the mans demise another time, right now, he needed to tend a hurt, crying Sophie on his shoulder. Ratchet gently scooped her into his servos, looking down at her with sympathetic optics. "Sophie? Sophie are you alright?" She shook her head, and crawled up next to his chest, burrowing her head into it. Snot and tears smeared onto the medics armor, but he didn't care, he could clean himself later. All his focus was on Sophie.

Ratchet touched the side of his helm.

_-Ratchet requesting Groundbridge-_

**XXX**

Sophie was in tears still in tears, and Arcee and Bumblebee were trying to calm the girl. Optimus shook his head, and Bulkhead looked away. Ratchet had told them, and now all anyone wanted to do was take care of Sophie, and make sure that slagger was taken care of. Optimus looked at Ratchet. "Are you sure of what you saw Ratchet?" Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee could barely believe their audio receptors. Did he seriously just say that?

"Optimus, did you _not_ see the bruises?" Arcee questioned. "Half her face his swollen and purple!"

"You've seen MECH, and you know that not all Humans are good." Bulkhead countered.

_"Optimus, as much as I would like to believe it wasn't another Human who did this, but Ratchet knows what he saw."_ Bumblebee said, trying hard not to sound as angry as the others.

Ratchet didn't say a thing. He knew what he had seen, and all the evidence was on Sophies face. Crossing his arms over his chasis, Ratchet looked at Optimus straight in the optics. His stare was hard, and Optimus stared at his medic, his most trusted friend, for a moment. He looked over at Sophie, who had curled up into a small ball, whimpering softly as she clutched her stuffed bunny to her chest. Optimus touched the side of his helm.

"Agent Fowler, we have a problem."

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><p><strong>Oh, and Happy Day after Valentines Day!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

It had taken only 15 minutes for Fowler to arrive, and when he entered the Base, instead of shouting about how Optimus was doing a horrible job, he went straight towards Sophie, who was sniffling as she hugged her Woobie so tight its head looked ready to pop right off. The Autobots watched curiously as Fowler, for the first time, looked sympathetic and kind. Fowler sat down on the couch next to the four year old, and hugged her gently. Bulkhead looked at the agent in alarm, not remembering a time that this man had been anything less than stubborn and annoying.

Fowler shot his head up at the Wrecker, eyes narrowing down into a thin glare. "I know what you're thinking two-ton. But I have kids." This surprised all the Autobots, even Optimus. They hadn't known Fowler had children. "I want to know who was responsible for this." Fowler snapped. "Child abuse will not be tolerated on my watch. Ratchet, what happened?" The four mechs and femme just stared at the man for a moment, before all optics and one set of eyes went onto Ratchet, who was still fuming about what he should do to the man, but it seemed now that Fowler knew, he would take care of the problem personally.

"I don't know his name, didn't get the chance to get it." Ratchet growled. "He works at the, orphanage, Sophie used to live at." Ratchet had hesitated to even say the word orphanage, the place reminded him more of a prison. "I knew something was wrong when Sophie's stress levels rose, and she became frightened even by the sight of the building. I myself found the place, disgusting. But, when I asked her if everything was alright, I knew she was lying when she told me no, but, I let her through a window that she said led to her old, 'room'." Ratchet explained. "I waited outside the room for several minutes, but then, I heard a loud smack, and became nervous, but kept my cover. When I heard her say my name, I knew she was in trouble so I…" Ratchet hesitated. What would Fowler say when he told he kind of, sorta smashed down the whole side of the building?

"What? What did you do?" Fowler questioned, patting Sophies head softly as she calmed down, listening to Ratchet as well.

"I..managed to partially break the whole side of the building down…"

"You WHAT?"

"Just let me finish!" Ratchet said, and cleared his throat. "I saw the bruises that man had made on Sophie when she came over to me. I then pinned the man down to the floor, and threatened to chop off his head and rip out his eyes." Everyone seemed a bit started by that, but most were used to Ratchet threatening to dismantle them during their checkups. "I then walked away, and asked for a groundbridge." Ratchet finished.

Fowler looked at him for a moment longer, then nodded. "I see." He turned to Optimus. "Get me the coordinates." Optimus nodded. "In the meantime, I'm taking this girl to a doctor." Fowler took Sophie by the hand, and walked her over to the exit. But, as what had happened before, a servo blocked his way. But this time, it was a very angry Ratchet. "What's the big idea?" Fowler growled. Ratchet just glared down at the man.

"If you haven't noticed, I _am_a doctor." Ratchet felt deeply offended that he would suggest taking Sophie to an ordinary Human doctor, when Ratchet was a perfectly good doctor, and had been named the best medic in the entire universe! "And what will you say when the doctor he asks what happened to her? What will you say? "Oh, she was just abused by a man at a orphanage she used to live in"." Fowler did see a bit of reason in that. "And it bringing her to a doctor is not necessary. All she needs is to put some ice on her face to bring down the swelling, and the bruises will go away in about two weeks."

Fowler looked at the mech a small bit, and nodded, but still held Sophies hand firmly. "Okay, I get that." Ratchet smiled triumphantly. "But she's still comin' with me." Ratchet smile quickly changed into a frown. "Until this whole mess is cleaned up, and we get that guy, she's staying with me." Arcee crossed her arms, and looked at Bumblebee, who was looking at Sophie sadly as Bulkhead and Optimus narrowed their optics at the man. Ratchet snarled down at the Human, and Fowler glared up towards the mech. And while all this was going on, Sophie was completely and utterly confused. She's seen this man only twice, and he had threatened to take her away once. But, she really didn't get why exactly.

Ratchet hadn't done anything wrong, yet Fowler was yelling at him. The man had hurt her, not Ratchet. Ratchet would never hurt her, he was nice and kind, and he was the one to save her from the man and that red Decepticon. Ratchet could be cranky, but he would put all those negative feelings aside when it came to Sophie. And, Sophie wasn't stupid, though she didn't know much, she knew that Ratchet was very big, and extremely strong, and could easily hurt her, even kill her. But he was so gentle, as if he were holding the most precious thing in the world.

And she didn't know it, but it was true. To Ratchet, she was the most precious thing in his world. And he would not let Fowler take away what made him whole. "Agent Fowler, I will not allow this. I know that arresting a person is not so easy. You have to go through trails, and that can take years." Ratchet lowered himself to look the man in the eyes, his face stone cold. "And I will not let you take her away from me for that long."

"I thought you were the one who hated Humans Ratchet." Fowler countered, looking at him with a suspicious stare.

Ratchet took a step back, and folded his arms over his chasis. "Some. I do not hate all of your somewhat, inferior species. But, Sophie is my charge, my responsibility. I do care for some of your species, and sometimes I don't exactly see, optic to eye, with you, but if you take her away," Optimus gave Ratchet a look that said _That's enough_, yet, he didn't say anything as the medic poked Fowler in the chest. "I swear, I will hunt you down, and bring you to my lab, where I will dissect you." Fowler opened his mouth to speak. "And I don't care what your government will say. I don't care what they do to me, and I don't care where they send me. As long as I know that the others are caring for Sophie, and that I know you will not be able to take her away, I won't care."

Everyone was speechless. Fowler had gone a bit white, Arcee's optics had widened a fraction, Optimus looked at his medic with narrowed optics, as if trying to figure him out, Bumblebee looked mortified at the thought Ratchet dissecting the man, Bulkhead just looked at Ratchet, and Sophie, once again, had no idea what was going on. Again. Fowler let Sophie go, and slowly walked towards the elevator, not saying a word. Ratchet glared at him until the doors closed, and picked up Sophie in his servos, walking towards the exit. Bulkhead cocked his head to the side. "Uh, doc? Where ya' going?" He questioned.

Ratchet kept walking, and looked over his shoulder. "To the Darby's." Before anyone could interject, He transformed, Sophie plopping down on his seats, and quickly drove away. Ratchet got onto the road, and growled under his breath. _Great, now that flesh bags gonna be on my case, along with his government. _Ratchet thought. It remained silent for a few minutes, and Ratchet looked inwardly at the girl inside. "Sophie? Your very quiet, is something wrong?" Ratchet asked softly, noticing the silence. Looking inwards, he saw a very confused youngling sitting in his seats, hugging a stuffed bunny tightly.

"Watchet, why were you so mean to him?" Sophie questioned with a small sniffle. "I know he was a little mean to you but, he just tryin' to help, like you were." Ratchet just grunted in response. Sophie looked around for a moment. "Watchet, where we goin'? Wait, are we goin' to Jackies house? I've never been there before. Have you? Is it nice? Is it a big house? Is it small? Is it far? Is it close? Is his mommy nice? Does she know about you? Do they have a pool? Is Cece gonna be there? What color is it? Does-"

"Sophie, that's enough questions for now." Ratchet said, getting slightly annoyed."You'll see what it looks like when we get there." He said, and Sophie nodded. Ratchet sighed, trying to figure out what to say to June. She knew about the Autobots, but she didn't exactly know about Sophie. Jack hadn't told her yet, and neither had they. Ratchet didn't know what the nurses expression would be when she saw Sophie like this. It wasn't exactly the best way to meet a person, since it wasn't on the best terms. And Ratchet would rather face a swarm of starving scraplets then anger June.

Before he knew it, Ratchet was parked right in Jack's driveway. The medic sighed, and contacted Jack.

_-Jack?-_

_-Ratchet? Is that you?-_

_-Come outside Jack-_

There was a pause.

_-Uh, what?-_

_-Bring Nurse Darby with you, I need her assistance-_

Another pause. Ratchet could hear Jack whispering something, probably talking to June.

_-We'll be right out Ratch-_

Ratchet disconnected the call, and waited slightly patiently outside. Soon enough, the garage door opened, and Jack came out, along with his mother. Ratchet pulled into the open garage, and Jack put a hand on his hood. "What's wrong Ratch? Is it Cee? Did something happen?" He questioned, nervousness in his voice. June stood behind her son, looking a bit concerned as well. Ratchet simply opened his door, allowing Sophie to hop out. Ratchet didn't say a word. Jack seemed to hold his breath. And June, June just stared wide eyed at the ambulance, then at the beat up little girl in front of her. Jack plugged his ears, and before Ratchet could question why, June exploded.

"Jack Martin Darby! They had a little girl and you didn't tell me? I thought we agreed on no more secrets young man! And just look at her, that poor little face is all beat up!" June shot her glare towards Ratchet, who had tried to slowly back away. "What happened to her? I swear, if you brought her into one of your battles, I will tie you down, and take you apart piece by piece!" She snarled. Ratchet didn't know if she was serious or not, and really didn't want to find out. There was a moment of silence, once again, and June looked at both Ratchet and Jack. "Now, will someone explain to me who this is, why she's here, and how come she looks like she just got hit in the face by a wrecking ball." June put her hands on her hips, fire in her eyes as she stared down the vehicle.

"Nurse Darby, calm yourself." Ratchet said in a somewhat calm voice. "This is Sophie, she is my charge. I came to you because I would like you to tend to her, as I cannot, and, I will discuss why she is like that to you privately." June looked at Jack, and the teenager knew that both adults were staring him down. Clearing his throat, he looked down at Sophie, and took her hand, going inside the house. June looked back at Ratchet, who sighed. "I was taking Sophie down to her old orphanage," June's eyes widened a fraction at the word. "to get her stuffed animal. And don't ask why." June smiled slightly at that. "I let her in through an empty window, and waited outside until I heard someone come into the room with her. I heard her call for help, and of course, intervened on whatever was happening."

"I have found that she was abused by the owner of the so called, 'orphanage'." Ratchet could barely bring himself to say the word. June looked at Ratchet with sadness in her eyes, and nodded. She had seen a few cases in which children were badly abused by adults, and this was nothing short of it. She nodded, and Ratchet turned away from her slightly. "I hope this is not a bother to you, I simply need a Human to look after her for now, if that is alright with you." June smiled, and shook her head.

"Of course not Ratchet. It's fine." She gently patted his hood. She turned, and walked into her house. Sophie was seated on the couch, chowing down on a sandwich as Jack looked at her with sympathetic eyes from the kitchen, preparing an ice pack for her. June walked over to her son, concern in her eyes as they flicked towards Sophie then back. "How is she?" She questioned, and Jack just shrugged, looked at Sophie instead of June.

"She seems fine, I mean, for whatever happened to her." Jack started to fill a plastic bag with ice cubes. "Before you came in she was going on and on about how nice our house was, and how much she liked Ratchet." Both chuckled at that, and June put a hand on Jack's shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him. "I know, I know, "I'm grounded till I'm 30."

June smiled. "Well….25." Jack smiled at his mother before looking back at Sophie, who had just finished off her sandwich with a small burp. June heard Ratchet grunt outside, grumbling about manners and such. June walked over to the couch, settling down next to the girl. Jack came over as well, handing June the bag of ice. June looked at the girl kindly. "Sophie, was it?" The small child looked over at the nurse, nodding. "I'm here to help you, okay? I'm a doctor, like Ratchet." Sophie's face seemed to brighten up a little. "Can you just keep this ice pack on your face for a little while, okay?" Sophie nodded once more, and June placed the ice pack in her hands. Sophie pressed it against her cheek, the coldness feeling very nice against the bruise. June got up, and walked back towards the garage, closing the door behind her. Ratchet had remained, as she had suspected, and she placed her hands on her hips. "I want to see Optimus immediately."

Ratchet was stunned by the words. "Optimus is a very busy mech Nurse Darby, surely you could see him tomorrow-"

June shook her head. "No. I'm going there. _Now._" Ratchet didn't like the tone of her voice, and opened his door, not wanting to get into an argument right now. June climbed into the car, and Ratchet pulled out of their driveway, back down the road. Ratchet stayed silent as June huffed inside of him, and knew this was not going to be pretty. What would she say to Optimus? At least he was a self controlled mech, or Ratchet might just be scraping off a big mush on the floor…

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Chapter 7 is finally here! :) Hope you liked it!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**I would like to thank ironaft30 for giving me the name for, 'the man'. From now on, and forever, he shall be known as...**

**JOSEPH SANTOS! **

**Pretty evil name huh? XD **

* * *

><p>Angry was an understatement. June was furious. No, <em>furious<em> was an even bigger understatement. June was like an infuriated, wrathful, ferocious, raging ball of I'm-going-to-kill-you. Ratchet was even a little scared as they pulled into the Base.

Ratchet gave a small yelp of pain as June slammed the door open, and stomped out, steam ready to come out of her ears. Ratchet transformed, rubbing his arm as he watched June snarl up at Optimus, who blinked at her in confusion. June pointed at him accusingly. "Are you serious? A little girl? And I thought it was bad enough you were bringing in children Jacks age, but _this_? She's just barely out of her baby stage Optimus, and you brought her into _this? _Does she even know you're at war?" Optimus looked away slightly, guilt in his optics.

June put her hands on her hips. "I didn't think so. It would have been fine if I just met her, but you brought her to me like _that_? I don't even want to know what would happen if a Decepticon got her!" That sent shivers down Ratchets spine. If a simple whack could give Sophie something that bad, what would happen if she got into trouble with the 'Cons? He shook the thought away. He didn't want to think about that. "They're children Optimus! _Children_! She's barely old enough to understand this all, Raf not even a teenager, Miko doesn't know what she's gotten herself into, and Jack is probably the only responsible one here!" She snapped, bewildering Optimus.

He bent down to her height, now seeing the true anger in her expression, and not just her voice. "Mrs. Darby, it was not our choice to bring them into our war, and we did not want any Human to be in the dangerous position such as this, but, it is for their safety, for Sophie's safety that she remained with us." Optimus explained calmly. "I thought that our three young friends would be the only Humans that would come across our existence, but I was mistaken. Sophie had remained on Base, until the previous events, and was safe with us-"

June glared at him. "Safe? If one of you were to take one wrong step, she could become road kill! And none of these kids are safe with the Decepticons still around, both you and I know that." Optimus sighed. He knew the woman was right. Sophie wasn't, _completely_, safe with them, but he was sure that none of them would step on her. They hadn't stepped on one of the children yet, though Ratchet wished he could, 'accidently', look the other way and step on Miko sometimes...

Ratchet stepped in, standing beside Optimus. "June, there is nothing to fear. We did not bring any harm onto her, and neither did the Decepticons." He pointed down at the Human woman. "You are the one forgetting you brought this pain upon her. It was not us, it was that man who did this." June sighed, nodding slightly. "We are getting Agent Fowler to deal with this, 'problem', and we will make sure he is put in his place." Ratchet said with a sturdy nod. Even if Fowler couldn't dig up anything on him, Ratchet had plans for the man. He could get information from the Human one way or another. Though, he was thinking of using more painful ways. No one would hurt his charge and live without the fear of the medic. _No one. _

June sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I...I suppose your right...but you could have told me. I would have been fine with it if I had met her sooner." Optimus gave a small smile, and nodded towards her. Turning to Ratchet, his optics hardened.

"We have found who this man is." Ratchet tensed, metal teeth grinding. "His name is Joseph Santos, age 43, owner of his so called, 'orphanage'." Ratchet didn't respond. Now that he knew who this half glitched slagger was, he was going to track him down, and make good of his threat. But it seemed Optimus knew what he was thinking. The mech placed a servo on his friends shoulder, giving him a stern look. "I know what you want to do Ratchet, but I simply cannot allow that. We are against harming Humans, you know that." Ratchet just grunted.

"I wasn't going to hurt him...much." Optimus could only give a small smile at him, and his gaze returned to June, who stood watching the two mechs. June didn't know what to make of all of this, but all she knew right now was that they had many secrets they kept from her. _Too _many for her liking. But, she didn't want to complain, since they were giant alien robots. Emphasis on the giant. Sighing, she shook her head at the two, turning and walking back towards the exit. "Nurse Darby...where are you going?" Ratchet asked curiously.

June turned towards him. "Home." She pointed towards the ground in front of her. "Now, transform or whatever you do and take me back to my house." Ratchet scowled slightly, not liking to be told what to do by a Human, but slowly walked over to her, transforming down into his alt mode. Opening his door, he let the Human woman in, driving off onto the road. June sighed, looking out the window with worry. "I just hope Jack knows what he's doing..."

**XXX**

Jacks eye twitched. He didn't know how Sophie could stand something so annoyingly stupid. The singing, the dancing, and the annoyingly high voices was just about to make his head explode. He didn't know what to say about all of this, so he got out his phone, tapped a few buttons, and brought it to his ear. After it stopped ringing, his eye twitched once more. "_Help. Me._" He muttered softly into the phone, his voice full of agony.

_-Jack? Jack what's wrong?- _Arcee's worried voice came through the phone.

"It's...it's horrible..."

_-Jack! Jack where are you? What's horrible? Tell me Jack!- _Arcee's concerns were growing darker and darker by the sound of Jacks voice.

"It's...Barney."

_-What?-_

"My ears are going to explode soon Cee. I need you to come over to my house and blow up my tv. Better yet, go to the studio where they film this stuff and blow up that stupid purple dinosaur." Jack said, trying to block out the sounds of the stupid kids show. He hadn't even watched this when he was Sophies age, finding it annoying at the time. But now, that he was 16, it was more than annoying. It was an agonizing pain that seared into his soul. Yes, he might have exaggerated a little, but it was still horrible. This would be a great torture for the 'Cons now that he thought about it. Maybe he would inform Agent Fowler about his discovery...

_-No-_ With that Arcee ended their call, and Jack sighed, thinking about where he and Arcee should go riding today.

Jack snapped out of his thoughts as Sophie jumped up from her place in front of the tv, looking around with wide eyes. A smile crept on her face, and she ran towards the garage door, trying to unlock it. Jack ran over to her, picking her up. "What's up with you?" He questioned, trying to get a good hold of the child as she squirmed and tried to get to the door.

Sophie looked towards him for a moment, then back at the door. "Watchet's coming! I gotta say hi!" She said, desperately trying to get to the door. Jack looked at her in shock, and for a moment, loosened his grip on her. That was all she needed for her escape. Opening the door, she bolted out, running down the sidewalk, Jack on her tail. "Watchet! Watchet!" Sophie cried excitedly down the street.

Jack didn't know what had gotten into her, or how she knew that Ratchet was coming, if he even was. But all he had on his mind right now was catching her before she hurt herself, or maybe someone else. Sophie stopped for a moment, looked around, and to Jacks horror, ran into the street. Before Jack could get her out of there, an ambulance swerved around to stop in the road, almost missing Sophie by several inches. The car stopped with a loud squeal of its tires, and opened its door, revealing June, who looked a bit nauseas.

Sophie didn't even bother with Jacks mother, and ran towards Ratchet, wrapping her arms around his grill as best as she could. "Watchet! I missed you Watchet!" She snuggled into the metal. Thank god no one was there, because seeing a four year old girl hugging a car would be a little strange. Ratchet revved his own engines, trying to get her away. He didn't want to let the Humans see him go soft. Sophie did back away, only to be grabbed by Jack, who was just kind of relieved she was even alive.

"What were you _thinking_?" Jack scolded, setting her back on the ground. "He could have killed you! Do you realize that?" Sophie hung her head in shame. "I'm serious Sophie! That was really dangerous! And you shouldn't be saying his name out loud, you'll draw attention!" June and Ratchet watched as Jack went on about how she was bad, and how she could have been killed. He sounded like such an adult, and that made June a little proud of her son. But, Jack stopped halfway through his rant, and blinked.

He finally remembered his first thought when she had ran out. How did she know Ratchet was coming back home? She had just jumped up, yelling Ratchets name. Was she physic? Nope, definitely not. Was she crazy? Maybe. Was he crazy? Possibly. One of the three had to be right, right? Probably not, but it was his only explanation for the phenomenon. Jack turned to Ratchet, who seemed to be waiting for him to say something. "Uh, Ratchet, can I, uh, talk to you?" Jack questioned. June knowingly took Sophie's hand, walking back towards the house with her own rant on the way.

Now it was his private time with Ratchet. "Ratchet, Sophie, she sorta knew that, you were coming to our house." Ratchet remained silent. "I don't know how she could have possibly known, but I hope you have some kind of idea, cause I don't have a clue." Jack looked at Ratchet expectantly, waiting for the medics answer. But Ratchet remained silent, not even moving. Jack didn't even hear the rumble of his engine.

"I...might have...somewhat of an idea of what happened..." Ratchets voice was distant. Could it even be possible? Yes, Ratchets spark reached out for her, it really did, but...a bond? He didn't even know that was possible to have with a Human. None of the other Autobots had a bond with their Human charges. But, Ratchet was remembering what Optimus had said to him,_ All of the Autobots have formed their own bonds with their Human charges Ratchet. But yours is special, something they could never form. _Now Ratchet knew this was true. And knew the truth behind Optimus' words. He knew that Ratchet would form a bond with the Human, right from the start. And he hadn't told Ratchet, all this time? He would think about what to do about that later, now he had to think about what had just come up. She had...sensed his presence near. Only in a bond one could do so. But, Ratchet had felt nothing. What did that mean? He loved Sophie like his own sparkling, yes, and he knew what she thought of him after their first talk with eachother. So why didn't he feel anything?

Could Sophie feel him? If so, she would know his emotions, and therefore his anger, stress, annoyance, and fear. But he knew she would also feel his love, kindness, and passion towards her, and he already felt a wave of her own happiness right now. He could feel her, and it made him happy. He barely even noticed Jack waving a hand in front of him he was in such bliss. Optimus knew that this would be good for him, a young one providing him such emotions. It was relaxing, a thing Ratchet had barely felt in months.

"Ratchet? Hey Ratchet?" Jack tapped on the car's hood. Ratchet had just started rumbling uncontrollably, and it sounded like a cat purring with pleasure. It was kind of scary. "Ratchet? Anybody home? Earth to Ratchet!" The car seemed to jump, and revved it's engines again, but louder, and more menacing. Jack put his hands in front of him. "Hey, hey! What's with you Ratch?" The boy questioned. Ratchet backed away slightly, moving backwards down the road. He needed to have some time alone, to think things over.

Leaving the extremely confused teen behind him, Ratchet sped his way back to Base. Was this all for the best? Having a Human charge was one thing, but having an actual bond with one? That was an entirely different thing, a more dangerous thing. If the Decepticons found out about a Human having a bond with him, they would try to get their rusty claws on her. But what Ratchet was scared of the most, was what she would feel about pain. Ratchet had done plenty of check-ups on mechs and femmes with a bonded brother, sister, sparkmate, or twin, who had been hurt. He heard the pain was indescribable, and all that pain went straight to the spark.

He didn't want Sophie to feel such pain if he got hurt, and he certainly didn't want her to be in any pain if she got captured, which he would make sure wouldn't happen. But, if ratchet got hurt, she would hurt as well. And Ratchet couldn't always stay within the Base, and had to sometimes go out into the field, like he had when he and Optimus were attacked by those Zombie-cons. Was this truly a good thing? In a way, it made Ratchet feel better. They were connected now, which meant if they were separated, in which Agent Fowler had proposed to do, they would become physically and mentally ill.

Ratchet had seen several cases of this in which sparkmates were separated, either by being captured by Decepticons, or by being on a mission in which they went too far from eachother. They had become weak, and had to stay in the med bay because of the hurting of their spark. Being far from those who have bonded affected their health, and if the Humans who decided to adopt Sophie saw these symptoms, no Human doctor, no matter what medicine they made, they would never be able to treat her, and would never truly know what was wrong with her.

So, Ratchet was left to decide. He could either squish Agent Fowler and blame it on an unfortunate accident, or fight for his adopted child. Both were quite tempting...


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9! And 50 reviews...wow...halfway to 100 baby!**

**Speaking of baby, I would like to congratulate the 50th reviewer, Merchant Navy Cadet, and the 51st reviewer, Transformers' BABY! Energon cookies for all of you! :D**

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><p>Ratchet sat, tapping his fingers against his knee. He'd been sitting in that exact place for almost 3 days, except when he was drinking a cube of energon. The others looked at him strangely, but went on with their usual duties at Base. They weren't used to him being so silent, not complaining about, as he called it, "Blasted Earth Tech!" Or telling one of them off, or well, just talking all together. He was silent, a solemn look on his faceplate as he looked at a part of the wall. He was thinking about his bond with Sophie over and over, replaying his thoughts in his processer. What was he doing? He had been so stupid, gotten so attached to the little Human, when he warned himself not to. Optimus had thought of it as a good thing for him, but now it was just causing him more stress. Stress that Sophie could possibly feel. He had never had a bond before, had only studied them once when he was a rookie. They were powerful, filled with emotions, good and bad. Once bonded, it was that way till death. Which was another thing bothering him. Ratchet would outlive Sophie by eons, and Ratchet wondered...<p>

Could he go on without the youngling in his life?

Yes, the Autobots would outlive their Human charges, which they had already thought about before, but they didn't have what ratchet and Sophie had. Ratchet knew with sparkmates, if one died, the other would soon follow. But that wasn't the case here. There would be a big hole in his life, something he could never replace when she died. There would always be something missing, something he couldn't fix or repair. And that scared him greatly.

Ratchet nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a servo being placed onto his shoulder plate. Looking up, he wasn't the least surprised to see Optimus' face. The mech had been at his side, or more at his shoulder, through this whole event, encouraging him to engage more with his Human charge, to get close to her. But, Ratchet didn't know he had wanted them _this_ close. "Ratchet..." Optimus said, shaking his head with a sigh. "I know what is going on. I had expected it from the beginning."

Ratchet didn't look at him, just stared at the wall, eyes narrowing at a small spot that had a crack. Something else he would have to work on. "I know you planned this." There was a silence in his leader. Ratchet remained still as Optimus' servo was taken off his shoulder, not even blinking as he heard the shuffle of his feet. "I know you planned this from the start. You wanted me to get close to the Human, thinking it would be good for me." Ratchet shook his head. "It isn't. I have to worry about the wellbeing of our warriors daily, but now I have to worry about her. Optimus, if she dies," Ratchet turned his head sharply to look Optimus in the optic. "And I will make sure she doesn't, I will not be able to go on." Ratchet looked at the spot on the wall again, optics narrowing at the crack with annoyance.

"Even if I do get to keep her Optimus, I won't be able to help with our cause. Taking care of a sparkling is an enduring job, and she will take up a lot of my time, time which I could be helping you." Optimus looked at his medic with sympathetic optics as he went on. "She doesn't know anything about the world Optimus, and what about the Humans government? Will they approve of this? An alien taking care of one of their own? And with our war, it will just make it more difficult." Ratchet sighed, now looking at a spot on the floor, getting just plain annoyed by that crack on the wall, which he had dubbed as Carl the crack. He spotted a small blotch of pink on the floor. It was from the time Miko had painted on his hide. That fateful day, when he had met the Human who had changed his life.

He wouldn't regret that day. He would never regret that day, no matter how bad things got, no matter if he thought Optimus had forced this upon him, he wouldn't, no, _couldn't _regret that day. Optimus sighed as well, looking away. "I am sorry, old friend, I, did not mean to cause you any distress. I apologize if you did not want her, if you did not want this. I-"

Ratchet looked at him again, now without the intense stare, and a cocked eyebrow. "Of course I wanted her Optimus." Ratchet sighed, trying to clutch something, yet nothing was there to hold. "I...I wanted this...But I was so afraid...I was afraid that..." Ratchet didn't know how to explain, and he had a vast vocabulary, both good, and bad words. Some very, _colorful, _ones as well. Optimus looked at his medic with concern.

"What were you afraid of?"

"I was afraid that she'd...change me." Ratchet confessed. So much had changed in his life, and he wished it would all just stop for a moment, slow down so he could figure out what was going on, so you could evaluate the situation. But nothing stopped moving, it went as supersonic speed, passing him by. He'd been a rookie medic when the war began, somewhere around twenty in Human years. That had been a big change in his life, and he'd seen so many die, right in front of his own optics. That had changed him as well, and he wished he was the same young self, free of war, only the worry of his career, not his very own life. But then, the place he had called home became uninhabitable. It was like a part of him was left on his planet, and he felt like someone blasted him in the spark when he had watched as they had floated away from their dead planet.

Ratchet didn't want to change anymore, though he knew it was a petty matter. But, it scared him to feel as though she was changing him, for the better or for the worse. Ratchet looked at Optimus in shame at his confession, but much to his surprise, the large mech smiled gently, and patted his shoulder. "Ratchet, I know that many things have, changed, in our lives, but not all change is bad. And Sophie will not change you, she is simply bringing out your, 'softer' side." Ratchet snorted at him. "I'm sure you will still be our short tempered, raging medic when she is not around." Both chuckled at that, and ratchet shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm just so tired of it all...with the Decepticons, our war," Ratchet paused to see if Arcee was in the room. "Cliffjumper." Optimus nodded sadly. "It's just all so much Optimus, but then, she came. She brought back the love in me Optimus, but she also brought back my stress as a parent." Optimus' optics widened a fraction. "Yes, I was once what some would call a parent. Before I wanted to go into the medical business, I used to work with sparkling center with a several other femmes. I didn't want to get attached to Sophie either because, when I got attached to one of those little sparklings, they always were sent off to another center, or adopted." Ratchet sighed. "I was always so stressed when I went back home. I worried if they were okay, if they were having nightmares, worrying about every little thing.

"But then I heard about the Decepticon attack on one of the centers, and went into a full blown spark attack. When there was destruction outside the center, I would gather all the sparklings together, and hide with them until the constructors came inside, and apologized to me and the femmes. I'm on edge Optimus, knowing that at any moment, Decepticons can attack. And the sparklings had a protective shell, if a one of us just poked her, she could get seriously hurt. A broken rib, arm, leg, spine, anything." Ratchet shook his head, thinking of all the possibilities.

"Ratchet, none of us will ever intend to bring harm upon her-"

"Yes, but what if it's not intended?" Ratchet questioned. "What if it's an accident, a simple mistake? I agree with June, we could so easily hurt her...without a thought, a careless second, she could, die..." Ratchet looked towards the ground, shaking his head. "I want her so badly, it's just that, I could hurt her. I would never want to hurt her Optimus, but it's just so hard. Just to even hold her, I have to use the greatest care." Optimus had seen this before, watched as Ratchet held Sophie as if she were just about to break, the most precious thing in the world. Which she was. At least to Ratchet she was.

"Old friend, I know she means much to you." Ratchet looked up at Optimus, who smiled at him slightly. "But you have to trust yourself that you, or any of us, will not hurt her. Yes, raising her in war will be a very hard struggle, and yes, she could, and will sometimes, be in danger. But, she trusts, and loves you. We will be here to protect her, and she will be in constant supervision. When she becomes adopted by you, she will be one of us. We protect our own Ratchet, more then we protect our Human charges, and more then we protect Humanity." Ratchet looked at Optimus, a bit surprised by his words. He really wanted Ratchet to adopt Sophie, and Ratchet wanted the same.

Ratchet stood up, looking at Optimus in the optics. "Optimus, I-"

The red and blue mech placed a servo on his shoulder, for about the millionth time, and nodded towards him. "Go to her Ratchet."

Ratchet smiled at him, and turned towards the exit, transforming and getting onto the deserted dusty road. He knew what he wanted know. He knew that he wanted to be with Sophie, and he knew that Sophie needed to be with him. He had gone over this a million times in his head. He wanted her, she needed him. Said it to himself billions of times. But now, he _knew_ that he _needed_ her, and she needed him a little more. Someone to teach her about the world around them, someone who had had so many experiences, had seen so many things, had been to, 'infinity and beyond'. He wanted to show her everything he knew, since when they had first met, she had even said she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. And Ratchet would make sure of that. He didn't want his child to be one of those, slacking off, no job, no life, lazy bum Humans. No way, no how.

He would make sure Sophie grew up as an intelligent, mature young woman. He would pick a good school, great high school, and a fantastic college. He would make sure all of these things would be in check. At least when she actually started kindergarten. Another thing for him to find. And worry about. He was already planning on where she could go to medical school when he pulled up to the Darby's house. First, he would have to talk to June, get a parents opinion on all of this. He stopped in the driveway, blinking his headlights at the window, getting Jacks attention. Ratchet sighed as the teenage boy called over his mother, said something Ratchet couldn't understand to her, and walked out the front door, 'casually' walking over to him.

Jack leaned against the hood, which Ratchet revved his engines at. The Human ignored him, and looked around to see if anyone was there. "Hey Ratchet, what's up?" The boy whispered, and Ratchet mentally rolled his optics. _Humans_. Ratchet pulled away from Jack, making him stumble over, and fall to the ground on hi butt. Jack shot Ratchet a glare, knowing he was smiling, and heard his snickering. Getting up, Jack dusted himself off dramatically, and looked at Ratchet again. "Sophie's fine, if you're wondering. Swellings gone down all the way, and most of her bruises are going away. She's been chattering away, day and night, about you, me, my mom, our house, everything." Jack smiled, looking back through the window, then back at Ratchet.

"Yes, thank you for informing me Jack." The boy nodded. "Now, I would like to speak to your mother." Jack nodded twice, and walked back into the house. With one Darby in, another Darby came out. June walked over to Ratchet as, 'casually' as Jack did, though she looked as though she was a ninja, sneaking around to get over to his grill, where she tapped it. Ratchet rumbled his engines, informing her it was him. She stood next to him, nodding.

"So, you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, I have...news." Ratchet began. June looked a bit concerned at that sentence, and opened her mouth to speak. "It is not what you think Nurse Darby. I have decided on something. Something I've been thinking about for a long time..."

June crossed her arms. "No Ratchet. I won't you let you step on Miko."

"No! Not that news! I've just started planning that..." Ratchet cleared his throat. "I have news involving Sophie."

June cocked her head to the side. "Yes? What about her?"

"I have decided to adopt her."

June stared at Ratchet with wide eyes, so wide that they looked ready to pop right out of her skull. Her mouth hung open, and Ratchet was waiting for a fly to dart right into there. Ratchet had expected her to be surprised, but not this shocked. She hadn't been this surprised since the day after she had found out about the Autobots. She had thought Arcee and Airachnids whole fight had been just a dream, a very realistic, scary dream. Then, when she had gone out into the garage to get a soda from the pack, Arcee had greeted her with a, "Good morning June". The woman had nearly had a heart attack. She had jumped around, looking for the source of the voice. She paced around the garage, telling herself she was hearing things. But then, Arcee transformed. June had just stared at the large metal being in her garage, and then ran inside, coming back out with a bat in her hand, and Jack at her side, who had a very _long_ talk with his mother.

The best though, was that Arcee had recorded it all.

Ratchet shook the thought off, and looked at a very baffled June. "Yes, I would like to adopt Sophie." June stared at him with even bigger eyes. "Your staring is making me a little uncomfortable." June snapped out of it, and shook herself off, nodding towards Ratchet, a very professional look on her face. "I, wanted to talk to you about it. Parent to Parent." Ratchet said, and June nodded again. Ratchet came forward towards her, nudging her a little. "Are you going to say something?"

June nodded again, then shook her head. "Yes, yes, yes." She shook her head again. "I mean," She sighed, and put a hand his hood. "Ratchet, she really needs you. And I'm glad that you've decided to adopt her, but have you thought this through? I mean, being a single parent is a really difficult task. And when your," She gestured to his form. "You know, what, 'you' are, it'll be even harder." June looked at him seriously. "Are you sure you're up to the challenge Ratchet?"

"Yes."

Ratchet knew that one simple word, three letters and one syllable, would change his life.


	10. Chapter 10

Ratchet rolled into the Darby's garage, watching as the large door behind him closed slowly. June had gone inside, and said she was getting Sophie. But Ratchet had sensed something in her, saw her tenseness, her fright. After several minutes, ratchet knew something wasn't right. Ratchet revved his engines loudly as he felt a slight pang of fear wash over him, but didn't dare transform, knowing he was not as small as Arcee, and would break the roof if he did so. So, he simply made his displeasure quite clear. He began to honk, louder and louder, but they still did not come. So he began to move back and forth in the garage, making things break and fall out of place. Yet they still didn't show.

So, Ratchet took drastic measures. He revved his engines one more time, making it as loud and menacing as he possibly could, and rammed himself, though he didn't break it, into the garage door. June carefully poked her head out, pupils small and body trembling. "W-What's wrong R-Ratchet?" She questioned, voice as shaky as her appearance. Ratchet knew something was definitely wrong now. Her heart rates were off the charts, palms shaky, mouth dry. What was going on beyond the door she was hiding herself behind? Turning on his thermals scanners, he tried hard to keep his engines from rumbling in outrage. Behind June, was the appearance of a man, holding a gun to her head. And Ratchet knew exactly who that man was.

Joseph Santos.

Ratchet didn't want to give away what he knew to the man just yet. If he knew that Ratchet knew what was going on, he could blow Junes brains out. Ratchet was not going to allow that to happen. Using his scanners, he found Jack in the corner, trembling all over as he covered Sophie's mouth, knowing if she screamed, he would pull the trigger. Ratchet was a smart mech, and knew that if he bashed through the whole house, trying to turn the man into a tire tracked pancake, he could possibly hurt the other Humans inside. "June, is Sophie almost ready to go?" Ratchet questioned casually, trying to keep his anger within him. Silently, and quickly, he sent out a distress signal to the other Autobots, and to Agent Fowler. He needed Human assistance, and he needed it now.

June gulped nervously once more. "She's al-almost ready Ratchet, n-not to worry." She struggled with each word, her words consumed by fear. Ratchet simply waited in spot, waiting for the chance to crush the Human bastard, and waiting for Agent Fowler to arrive. The man was always late, or not there. They usually got a voicemail of him saying he'd be home on Tuesday, which really annoyed Ratchet. And as he had said once, he _hated _ talking to machines. Finally, there was an answer to his distress call.

_-What's the problem?-_

Ratchet couldn't answer, because if he spoke, June would certainly be a goner. So, instead, he used the Morse code. Carefully, Ratchet began to click.

**_... . .-.. .-. / ... - .-. ... .. . / -.. .- -. -. . .-. .-.-.-_**

There was a pause, and ratchet couldn't take it. The silence was unnerving.

_-Help…Sophie…Danger? Ratchet, what's going on? Why are you talking like that?-_

Ratchet tried hard not to rev his engines, his frustration growing.

**_.- - ... . .-. ... / ... .- -. - - ... / -. ..- -. / -.. .- -. -. . .-._**

Fowler gave a small sigh over the comm. _–Ratchet, what are you?...Joseph Santos...gun...danger...That guys got a gun?- _

**_-.- . ... .-.-.- / -. . . -.. / ... . .-.. .-. .-.-.-_**

_-Yes…Need help...I'm coming Ratchet, hang on!-_

Their comm link ended, and ratchet brought his attention to a very fearful June. "R-Ratchet, maybe you should come get her a-another t-time. Today's not a good time, m-maybe you c-could come tomorrow?" She asked nervously. Ratchet remained silent, sitting there. He revved his engines a small bit, and rolled away from the door, but not out of the garage.

"No, I'll just wait here." Ratchet said, trying to settle down. It was hard to when some one's life was on the line, and if he did something wrong, her death would be all his fault. "June, may you come out please?" June's face went white for a moment, but she realized what was going on. Ratchet knew, and he was taunting Joseph. "June, is there something wrong? Should I come inside?" He questioned, trying to sound as innocent as possible, like he had no clue what was going on. The man seemed to catch on, and busted the door open, holding June firmly, hand shaking as he held the gun to her head.

Joseph looked almost as scared as June herself. "Look, I don't know who or what you are," He pressed the dangerous metal against Junes head harder. "But one move and I'll blow her brains out!" He said, his voice strong, yet his knees weak and wobbly. Ratchet didn't say a word, didn't move a tire, just growled loudly, revving his engines loudly. Why wasn't Agent Fowler here yet? Suddenly, Joseph went straight up, eyes bulging out of his head, hair rising, and a little drool coming out the side of his mouth. He instantly dropped the gun, and fell to the floor, arms and leg twitching as foam began to form in his mouth.

Behind him was a smug looking Fowler, taser in his hand, still a little electricity jumping off of it. His smug look wore off as he saw June, who was trembling in her spot, but looked quite relieved to have the gun, and Joseph, away from her.

Fowler rushed over to the woman, trying to comfort her. "June, June it's okay." He said gently, shaking her a small bit. June looked up at him with grateful eyes. Ratchet looked at the two for a moment, then sensed Joseph was moving. Ratchet revved his engines angrily, and Joseph looked at him, eyes wide. Before June or Fowler could see what was happening, Joseph shot up, pushed the two adults out of his way, and bolted into the house. June ran inside as well, Fowler on her tail. Ratchet wished he could go in, and beat the man to a to a pulp, yet he remained outside. Fowler and June could handle this, right?

There was several screams from inside, the sounds of things breaking, and finally, everything seemed to stop inside the house.

"He's got Sophie!"

Fowler cry was all Ratchet needed. He transformed, but tried to lay on his stomach. His feet protruded from the garage, leaving large holes. He peered in, and roared in outrage. Fowler stood a few feet away from Joseph, holding June back from attacking the man. Jack was nowhere to be seen, and Joseph was holding a dagger to Sophies neck, letting it slightly sink into her tender skin. He looked at the two Human adults with a sinister smile, and his eyes looked like that of a mad man. Sophies own eyes were wild with fear, breathing very fast. She didn't dare struggle, the blade could easily slice into her throat if she did so.

Ratchet growled, and reached in his hand, breaking a part of their garage door in the process. His large hand reached for Joseph, he gawked in fear at the large metal casting a shadow over him. Suddenly, Jack burst out from behind a chair, let out a battle cry, and tackled Joseph to the ground. Sophie looked around in fear, watching as Jacks fist met Josephs face, making a large cracking noise as it hit his nose. Fowler ran up to Jack, reached into his pocket, and brought out a needle with a strange looking liquid in it. Joseph managed to push Jack off, his nose bleeding uncontrollably, but before he could do more, Fowler quickly stuck the needle into his arm, letting seep into his system.

Joseph looked up at Fowler with fury. But, as he got up, his form become wobbly, and he fell over onto the ground. Fowler put the needle back in his pocket, and June and Jack looked at him in confusion. Fowler just shrugged. "Sedative. Better to be safe than sorry. Would have brought a tranquilizer gun." Getting out his phone from another pocket, he crossed his arms. "This is Agent William Fowler, I need a team over here stat. Tell them to bring the mutts with them as well, wouldn't want our guest to get comfortable in the car." Fowler closed his phone, looking to the man with utter disgust.

Ratchet, who had brought out his hand to crush Joseph, instead put it onto Sophies back in comfort. The small girl ran over to him, trembling with fear as she looked around the destroyed house. She wasn't crying, she was just frightened by what had happened. Joseph had just barged in when her and Jack were watching tv, and his mom had tried to protect them, she really had, but she had ended up with the gun pressed against her head. It was all so scary to her. Joseph had never had such a thing, he'd never used one at the orphanage. "W-Watchet." Sophie said shakily, pointing at the gun on the floor. "What is that thing?" She questioned, voice full of innocence. She didn't exactly know what it was, only that it was bad, and made people go up to heaven, like her mommy and daddy had.

Ratchet stared at the weapon with cold, narrowed optics, brought Sophie closer to him. "A horrid thing, my sparkling. It causes nothing but death, war, and destruction." Sophie looked at the weapon with fear, and snuggled into the side of Ratchets faceplate. Ratchet felt the strong urge to protect Sophie now. Well, he always had had the urge to protect her, this event was just enforcing it further. And he realized what he had just said. 'My Sparkling'. She truly was, and would be his sparkling, but right now, even though she wasn't legally his, he would think of her as just that. His Sparkling, and no one else's. Ratchet, seeing the police cars coming, carefully transformed, trying not to break anything else. Fowler walked up to June, who was just realizing how damaged her house really was.

Fowler put a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with sympathetic eyes. "We'll pay for everything Mrs. Darby, you don't need to worry. I'll rent you two an apartment down the road while we work, is that alright?" He asked, and June looked at him, nodding with a small smile. Jack looked at his house, rubbing the back of his head. A screech of tires erupted from the road, and a blue motorcycle came into the garage, riding up along Ratchet and Sophie who was currently snuggling into his seats.

Jack came into the garage, the motorcycle rushing up to him. "Jack, are you alright? We just got Ratchets distress call." She suddenly growled angrily. "Now where is that Pi spawned slagger? I want to give him a piece of my mind!" Arcee used her scanners to find the man unconscious, and being dragged into a police vehicle full of barking, and very angry, dogs. The femme calmed down slightly, and grunted. "I see you guys got all of this under control...wish I got here earlier..." She huffed. Arcee had been planning an exact battle attack, just for him. First, she would blast him. Then, get out her blades, do a little slice and dice, and for the finale, do a back flip, round off, and land on him. Guess she would have to save it for when he tried to do something next time...

Jack nodded. "Yeah, but thank God Ratchet was here." He looked over to the medic with grateful eyes, and Ratchet grunted towards him. "So where are the other-"

Jack was cut off by the sounds of honking outside. Walking out of his garage, his jaw dropped. Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee were outside, all in tank mode. Their weapons put all together equaled about half an army, and each car was revving their engines, waiting for something to shoot at. Jack went up to them, hands towards them in a stop sign. "Hey, guys, it's okay. They've got Joseph in custody, it's all good." Jack crossed his arms. "Now, will you please put your weapons away." His head jerked towards the other house. "You're scaring my neighbor."

Mrs. Clark, the old woman who lived next to Jack, looked ready to have a heart attack at the sight of the armed cars, police officers, and the demolished house next to her. She looked at the cars for a moment longer, screamed, raised her cane in the air and ran back into her house, locking each lock on her door, leaving Jack to only face palm.

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><p><strong>I just couldn't leave everything hunkey-dorey ya' know. Had to have some sort of action in here...and just for your information, that is actual morse code.<strong>

**Now can somebody call a hospital? I think Mrs. Clark just fainted...**


	11. Chapter 11

**I would like to thank Merchant Navy Cadet, for correcting my Morse Code. I got it from a website, and thought it was right. Apparently not.**

**And, I would just like to say, thank you. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story :) It makes me happy when I check my email and see someone new has favorited this story. It makes me even happier to see a review of someone who was not into this kind of fic, but has been following it.**

**To my fellow fanfiction members, and to all those anonymous reviewers, I give you all a big hug :)**

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><p>Sophie looked over at Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Agent Fowler, curiousity filling her expression. They were talking to Agent Fowler about what to do about Joseph. He knew too much, seen Ratchet transform once, and seen him in his actual form twice. He could go to jail, but that seemed like the easy way out. Ratchet wanted him to suffer, and wanted him to suffer slowly so the mech could watch. Though Optimus seemed a bit against the idea, the others were all for it. Especially Arcee, who was ready and willing to beat the man up alongside Ratchet, and though Bulkhead wasn't as angry with what had happened as the mech and the femme, he wanted him to be, 'hurt', in some way or another. Bumblebee was just shocked that a Human would do such a thing to one of its own kind, and didn't know what to make of the mess.<p>

Sophie was just as confused as the young scout, and that was why both were sitting out on this meeting. Bumblebee had told her it was for the adults, and that he would keep her company. He didn't have anywhere to go, Raf was away on a vacation with his family and wouldn't be back in 2 weeks. Bumblebee looked down at the small Human, watching as she fiddled with everything she could get her little hands on. Her Woobie beside her, she looked up at Bumblebee. Though he was the second smallest of the Autobots, he was extremely large compared to her. She barely even came to his ankle. Walking over to him, she looked at his foot, the shiny yellow surface mesmerizing her. Carefully, she reached out, and touched it. She'd been held by Ratchet many times, and Optimus had held her twice before, but she had only had real interaction with the yellow bot when she had met Ratchet for the first time.

Bumblebee looked down at the Human, interest in his own optics. He never truly realized how small Humans could really be. Raf was the smallest Human he had met before Sophie, but he never actually knew they started out even smaller than him. Bumblebee sat down on the ground, optics turning and clicking as he cocked his head to the side. Sophie looked up at him with a broad smile. "Hi Bee Bee!" She said, waving towards him. She rocked on her heels, looking around. "Whatcha think they're talkin' about?" She jerked her head over his shoulder, looking to the corner where the others had just moved to.

Bumblebee shrugged. _"Probably about that Joseph guy." _He commented, slight anger in his voice, or, clicks.

Sophie nodded. "I think they should put that ol' meanie in jail. He's a real bully, that's what he is. He big mean bully." Sophie crossed her arms sitting down. "Watchet told me that if he ever came near me again, he would hurt him up real bad." Sophie frowned, and shook her head."But I don't want Watchet to hurt him too bad. I mean, he's a meanie and all, but meanies can turn nice," She looked up at Bumblebee with big eyes. "Right?"

Bumblebee sighed, and cupped Sophie in his servos, setting her on his lap. _"Sophie...some people can change their ways, become nice. Others...they don't see what they're doing wrong, and think their way is the only way. But that's not always true. Take the Decepticons for example. Megatron manipulated many of them to think we are the enemy, others were just frightened by him, and wanted to be on the stronger side. Megatron is a meanie, just like Joseph, and thinks his way is the only way, the right way to do things." _Bumblebee shuffled slightly. _"But there's a difference between the two. Joseph is, not right in the head. Megatron," _Bumblebee tried to use his words correctly. Both were quite insane. _"He has strategies, battle plans. Joseph didn't know what he was doing, and had no idea what he was going to do when he actually finally got past June, possibly even Ratchet."_

Sophie, understanding slightly, nodded. "But, why would Me...Meag...Mati..." Sophie tried to say the word, but it twisted in her mouth, making it almost impossible to say. So, she decided on a nickname. "Why would Megi," Bumblebee had to hold back his laughter, "think the right way was to hurt you? Why would he? You're so nice and all, why can't you all just be friends?" Sophie questioned, confusion in her eyes. "Can't Otmus go over there and tell Megi what he's doing isn't good? Then they could become 'Bots, and everything would be alright."

Bumblebee sighed, closing his optics. If only it was that easy. _"Sophie, it's more complicated than that. See...Megatron and Optimus have a very long history with eachother, and it's not a very good one. We can't just end the war like that. Decepticons don't listen, and they never will." _Bumblebee looked at her, slight seriousness in his optics. _"You have to understand that, when this war ends," _Bumblebee looked confident. _"When we win, the Decepticons won't become 'Bots, they won't switch sides, most of them will either be on a ride to another planet, or" _Bumblebee tried to use the right words, not wanting to frighten her. _"The opposite of where your parents went." _

Sophie cocked her head to the side. There was an opposite place to Heaven? If Heaven was nice, that place must be bad. "Okay Bee Bee." She said politely, and looked down for a moment. Both Bumblebee's and her own head shot up as they heard shouting coming from the other room. Bumblebee carefully scooped Sophie up, and got up from his sitting position. The scout cautiously walked towards the corner, head peeking in on the older 'Bots and Human. Fowler and Ratchet were nose to nose, both snarling at eachother. Bulkhead was holding the medic back, preventing him from squishing the Human with his face, which it seemed like Ratchet was trying to do. Arcee seemed a bit bewildered by what was going on, but was shouting at Ratchet and Fowler as well. Optimus seemed like the only calm on at the moment, though his own optics had gone wide at the sudden rage Ratchet had shown. The medic snarled down at the man, who seemed not the least frightened by his actions.

Bumblebee remained hidden, optics turning round in interest. Ratchet managed to push Bulkhead off, but crossed his arms, snorting. "I didn't want to kill the little bastard." All the Autobots looked at the medic in surprise, and Fowler looked just plain offended by the comment. "If I wanted to do that, he'd probably already be dead." Ratchet growled. The mech towered over the man menacingly. "But that's not what we were talking about, is it?" Ratchet poked him the chest with a digit. "Sophie will not be coming with you. She is safe here with us, and none of your primitive weapon technology can protect her from the Decepticons." He hissed, and crossed his arms over his chasis again.

Fowler leaned against the railing. "That's not the point tin head." Ratchet gritted his teeth. "The points not to protect her from the 'Cons, it to protect her from that psycho, Joseph. That guy has a messed up mind, but he's a bit of a genius. He's been in prison several times, and all those several times he's broke out of the big house." Fowler shook his head. "If he gets out, there's a high chance he's coming for revenge. And around civilians, you guys can't do anything. You can't transform," Arcee huffed. "You can't go all trigger happy," Bulkhead looked away. "And you can't risk being seen by anyone else." Optimus nodded. "That's why the best thing to do is to bring her into federal custody. She'll be under twenty four hour watch, have a nice new place to live, some foster parents-"

Ratchet froze. "Foster parents?" He asked gravely. He was Sophies parent! No matter if they were an entirely different species, Ratchet had adopted Sophie as his own, Sophie had even asked for him to do so! They even had a bond! Ratchet didn't even know that was possible! Fine if they put her under federal custody, as long as he got to see Sophie daily, but taking her away entirely? Ratchet wouldn't allow that, no, he _couldn't _allow that. "No. Definitely not. This is will not be happening." Ratchet shook his head.

Fowler crossed his arms. "You suddenly have the urge to care about Humans?" Fowler snorted. "If anyone is to decide, it should be her."

Bumblebee beeped quietly, making every head snap towards his direction. Carefully, he stepped into the room. He had covered Sophie with both servos, not wanting her to be seen just yet. Bumblebee looked towards Optimus, his leaders eyes troubled as he looked down at his young scout. There was something else though, Bumblebee just couldn't place it though. Before he could think about it more, Ratchet optics snapped onto Bumblebees cupped servo's, optics narrowing. They shot open, and he made a grab for the scout. Bumblebee had just enough time to dodge him, looking at the medic with wide, concerned optics. Ratchet stood before the scout, and placed out his hand. "Give her to me Bumblebee." The scout backed up a small bit. "Bumblebee, give her to me," Ratchet stepped towards the frightened 'Bot. "_Now_."

Bumblebee looked into Ratchets optics, and saw anger in them, anger, and fear. But there was also a tender loving in the look, and Bumblebee's optics widened. He'd bonded with the Human. He only saw that look in Sophie, that happy little glint in his optic. Servo's unfolding, Bumblebee placed Sophie in Ratchets awaiting servo. The medic nodded towards him, and turned, walking away from the others. He cringed as he went into the main part of base, feeling Sophies fear. It was stronger than his anger, and it was the easiest emotion to pick up in a bond. He looked down to see Sophie looking up at him, confusion in her wide eyes. Ratchet sighed, and looked away. Setting her down, he transformed slowly, parts shifting and clicking, the sound of metal grinding against metal as he took on another shape.

Opening his door for the small child, he said nothing as she knowingly clambered in. Ratchet took off, zooming right out of Base. He was going so fast, Sophie had to clutch to the cushion of the leather to stay in her seat, and not fly backwards. Ratchet needed to get his frustration out, and he wasn't going to leave Sophie alone with Fowler, when he could easily take her away while he was gone. Ratchet didn't go onto the road into town, but instead went off road, onto the hot desert sand. He needed to be alone. Turning off his comm link, he cloaked his signal, making sure the others wouldn't come and try to find him. He needed to talk to Sophie, without the stares of his fellow Autobots.

Looking around, he saw a place he wouldn't be seen, a place to with total privacy. Ratchet drove up the rocky path, onto the edge of a cliff. He stopped at the top, and opened his door for Sophie to get out. The four year old hopped out of the ambulance, and looked around in awe. It was just so...beautiful. The words she knew couldn't even describe what she saw. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon, and the blanket of night was slowly overtaking the sky. She walked around, stopping only a few inches away from the edge. She heard Ratchet transform behind her, and looked back to see him staring out at the horizon, eyes clouded with thoughts.

He thought of Cybertron, his once beautiful home. He thought of his new life on Earth, how different it was. But mostly, he thought about how life would be like with Sophie. Would it be harder? Yes. Would he have more on his plate? Yes. Would he ever think about dropping the idea of ever adopting her? Never. Ratchet would never think of just dropping Sophie back at the next orphanage, never in his life would he think that way. He felt threatened by Fowler and his talk of taking her back with him. Fowler would get her over Ratchets dead body. He also felt scared. If Sophie stayed with him, there was the chance she could get hurt by the Decepticons. She had already been close to one already, and Ratchet hated it was Knock Out.

Knock Out...Knock Out and Ratchet had 'history'. Ratchet had been bullied, humiliated by the red mech in the academy, and when they were rookie medics, had taken his ideas, and got all the glory and credit. But, then it had come to decide. Autobot, or Decepticon. Ratchet knew that Knock Out had been a very ambitious mech, and a very sneaky one as well. The perfect characteristics for a Decepticon. But Ratchet had tried to warn him, make him see the truth and become an Autobot with him. Knock Out had instead told Ratchet he was weak, and would never make it to the top. If Ratchet wanted to be a famous medic, he would have to team up with the winning side. Ratchet had known it was too late for Knock Out, and went to be with the Autobots.

But, then Ratchet had heard what had happened to Knock Out. Knock Out was very vain, and thought of himself even better then Megatron himself. The angry tyrant did not like what he heard, and went to Knock Out himself. Knock Out had tried to lie to his new leader, tell him the rumors were false. But Megatron didn't buy it. He beat Knock Out till the mech was half dead, and taught the others a lesson of how to behave. Knock Out became furious, and healed himself until he could fight again. The first thing Knock Out did as a Decepticon tore Ratchet apart. He had been with the few to destroy the Sparkling centers, and Ratchet had watched him do it. He had gone out to help the others, and watched in horror as Knock Out ripped a defenseless Sparkling in half, and shot down its wailing mother.

Ratchet had attacked the mech at that moment, and attempted to kill the Pit spawned slagger. But, Knock Out had had no mercy on him, and defeated Ratchet easily. Ratchet had nearly been torn apart when Knock Out was about to end his life. The ones to save him had been a few Autobot soldiers, ones that he now knew as Bulkhead, Arcee, and Cliffjumper. Ratchet looked away at the thought of the fallen Autobot. The brave mech had saved his life, yet Ratchet had been unable to do anything to save his. Ratchet looked out to the horizon once again, sadness in his optics. He had been unable to do anything. Ratchet hadn't been able to fix Bumblebees voice box, he'd been unable to do anything for Cliffjumper. Ratchet felt useless, worthless to their cause. He'd seen so many perish as he had tried to save them, and he felt guilt build up inside his spark at the thought of the many he had treated, and failed to save.

But, Ratchet knew that even if he was a useless medic, worthless to help with the fight, he was not worthless in some one's eyes. A very small someone in fact. Ratchet looked down to see Sophie, who was staring at everything in wonder. He felt her curiousity, and sighed. She was so young, so unequipped to handle the world, without the knowledge of the many dangers it held, but with the sight of the many beauties it had. Ratchet wished he could see the same things in everything. Everything was something beautiful to her, something new and exciting, full of life.

Ratchet looked up at the stars that were slowly coming out, and breathed out heavily. Up there somewhere was Cybertron, dead, useless, lifeless. He knew they would never be able to bring back life to their planet, but had hoped before. He thought all Humans were pests, annoying little things that ran under your feet, things that were too loud, too bossy, too excitable, very irresponsible, kind of pathetic, and a bit careless. But Sophie had completely changed his point of view on them.

He now felt Humans were loving, helpful, brave, kind, caring, and most of all, a thing he had come to love with all his Spark. At least one of them, Ratchet was taking this whole, 'Human loving' thing slowly. He was still barely getting used to Miko, and she'd known about them for about 2 months! But Sophie had touched his spark, not right away, but soon enough for him to handle what was going on. Ratchet sighed contently, and looked at the sky once more.

He was ready for this. Mentally, and physically ready for whatever happened next. Optimus would be there to support him, and he hoped the others would too.

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><p><strong>With the whole Knock Out thing, I figured since almost everyone had an arch-enemy, (If thats how you spell it...) Besides Bumblebee...Why couldn't Ratchet have one too? I mean, they're both doctors and all. And I got the idea of Knock Out stealing Ratchet's ideas in medical school from the episode "Stronger, Faster", when Knock Out thanks Ratchet for his discovery, and how he would boast about it. Figured that if he would do it now, he would do it back then :P<strong>

**But anyway...hoped you enjoyed Chapter 11!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy Day Before St. Patty's Day! :D**

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><p>Sophie didn't like it when people got angry. It reminded her of Joseph, and all of the mean things he had done. It scared her when people got angry, and she always felt like they were going to hurt her. Fowler was extremely angry right now as Ratchet held her, determination in his optics. He was yelling things none of them could understand, growling and snarling at Ratchet. But she felt the medics complete and utter calmness, and his optics flicked towards her for a moment, softening for just a second, right before he looked back at Fowler. She felt him send waves of comfort, though she didn't know how he did it. Maybe he was a magician as well as a doctor. That would be pretty cool.<p>

Fowler stopped for a moment, breathing in and out like an angry bull. His face was pitch red, his nostrils flared angrily, and his eyes had little red veins showing from the sides. He looked like a monster in general, at least to Sophie he did. If only he had two horns and fangs, then she would be peeing her pants. Ratchet had her tightly to his chest, ignoring the strange looks of his fellow Autobots. They had no idea what was going on, had no way to respond to what Ratchet was doing. Yes, they protected their charges, and cared for them deeply, but not like this. Optimus was the only one not raging angry, or completely dumbfounded. The large red and blue mech stood beside Ratchet, looking down at the Human.

Fowler banged his fist against the railing, making an unpleasant noise. "Ratchet, I know you guys are protective of the kids that know about you...but this is just..." Fowler didn't even have words to describe what he was feeling. "If this is how it's going to be, then I will force you to give her up." Ratchets optics narrowed at the man. "And I won't take no for an answer. You 'Bots have done a lot, most of those things that could have, and almost lost me my job. Letting civilians find out about your existence, on your last chase with the 'Cons, you two," He pointed towards Bulkhead and Bumblebee. "Almost squished to cars, and worst of all, letting them get their hands on the Liberty Bell." The four Autobots cocked their heads to the side, all except for Ratchet, whose optics widened.

He'd forgotten to tell Optimus about that. His leader looked to Ratchet, then at Fowler. "Special Agent Fowler, when exactly did they steal this Liberty Bell?" Optimus questioned. Fowler looked towards him, then snapped his head towards Ratchet, glaring at the red and white mech.

"About a week ago. Didn't he tell you?" Everyone looked to Ratchet in surprise, but the mech ignored them, though his head went low. "I guess not. Those 'Cons stole the Liberty Bell. And in case you 'Bots didn't know, that's extremely hard to cover up from the public eye. People have been getting suspicious, and several people have reported seeing giant robots come in the night and steal the giant chunk of metal." Fowler explained, though he kept glaring at Ratchet. "Whatever those 'Cons are doing, it must be big. Just recently, they've stolen several pieces of the Eiffel Tower, which is already trying to be rebuilt." Fowler snapped. All the Autobots looked to eachother. What were the Decepticons up to? And why were they stealing so much metal?

Ratchet knew this was bad, he could feel it in his bones, suspicions crawling under his skin. Sophie seemed to feel it as well, and huddled herself against Ratchet, looking to Fowler. Did she even understand what was going on? Maybe. She was a smart one, Ratchet had to give her that. Looking back up to Fowler, he saw Optimus walk towards the metal platform, and place a servo on the railing. "Agent Fowler, I did not know of this information, but now that I do, our monitors for Decepticon activity will be on daily, and I will send out more frequent patrols to make sure our scanners are correct." Optimus said, voice and optics troubled by the sudden news.

Fowler crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. Just make sure you figure out what their up to Prime." Fowlers head snapped back towards Ratchet. "But that's not I'm here to talk about, is it?" Fowler walked away from Optimus, and as close to Ratchet as he could. "No one will allow this. I certainly won't, that's for sure. It just isn't right. I mean, one of you? Raising a Human?" Fowler shook his head, and looked to Ratchet with disgust. "It's not natural. If the government hears about this..." Fowler shook his head once more. "They've given you enough rights so far. And adopting a kid is not one of those rights. Besides, there's a bunch of legal things to go through-"

"But legally, we don't exist." Arcee pointed out. It was true, legally, they didn't exist to the world, to mostly all the Humans on Earth. Ratchet smirked as Fowler grinded his teeth.

"But _she_ does exist. And what will happen when I get a hold of the parents who want to adopt her, huh? Oh sorry, the kid you're looking for has already been adopted by a GIANT ALIEN ROBOT!" Ratchet rolled his optics. "This isn't going to work out. Now hand her over now or-"

Ratchet stepped forward. "Fowler, what if I decided I did not want to adopt her, then would she be able to stay longer?" All jaws dropped at Ratchet. First, he had announced that he loved Sophie like his own sparkling, and now he was deciding he didn't want to keep her? Well, it did make some sense, if they thought about it. If Ratchet suddenly decided he'd rather not adopt her, Fowler would back off, and go off to try to find some Foster parents for her. Sophie would get to stay here longer, and Fowler would go away. They were all stuck on the, 'Fowler would go away'. How nice a thought that was. Fowler looked at the mech, and nodded slowly. "Then, I have decided I will not adopt her. Is that alright with you and your Human government?" Ratchet asked, tone sharp.

Fowler huffed, but nodded again. "I guess...but if this some kind of weird trick or something I'll-!"

Optimus stood tall. "Agent Fowler, there is no trick, scheme, or plot behind Ratchets actions. He simply wished to have more time with the youngling." He spoke for Ratchet, and the medic nodded towards his leader gratefully. "Now, Agent Fowler, it is late. It's been a very long day, and we all need some rest." The red and blue mech saw the large purple bags under the man's eyes, and knew this was an offer his Human body could not resist. Fowler grumbled something under his breath, but nodded, slinking out of the room gloomily. Ratchet simply grunted towards him as Fowler left for the elevator, finally going away.

Everyone was silent when the Human was gone. The three Autobots looked at eachother, looked at Optimus, then looked at Ratchet. All of them had a dumbfounded look on their faces, eyes seemingly bulging out of their heads, mouths wide open, just looking at their medic as he held Sophie close to him, even though Fowler was gone. Ratchet snorted towards them all. "What are you three looking at?" He growled. The three barely even flinched. "You better look away, or I'll make sure your faces will stay that way for several eons." The three immediately closed their mouths, and looked away from him, afraid that he would might do that exact thing.

Ratchet looked at them through narrowed eyes. He looked to Optimus with a small nod, and walked into the hallway. He walked into his room, clicked a few buttons on the door, causing it to slide closed, and make a small snap to show it was locked. He didn't want the others to creep into his room, and didn't want them to see anything he didn't want them too. Sighing, Ratchet set himself down on the edge of his berth, and finally put Sophie down on his knee. He put his head in his hands, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do anymore..." He muttered. He had literally given up the happiness he had longed for. He had said that he didn't want to adopt, which was the biggest, fattest lie in the world.

Sophie looked at Ratchet, eyebrows furrowing. What was wrong with him? Why was he so sad? Did she do something wrong? She only wanted to make him happy, mostly because he didn't seem so happy most of the time. She wished she could make Fowler happy, he never seemed to be happy when she saw him. He was always angry and annoyed, sometimes tired and grumpy. But today, he was really angry. Really _really_ angry. And Ratchet had gotten really angry as well, which scared Sophie even more. Sophie didn't understand why, but she knew he needed her help, someway and somehow, he needed her right now. Crawling up to Ratchets arm, she kneeled down, and gently touched it. She saw ratchet peek through his fingers, the light of his optics giving it away. "Watchet," Sophie looked down at his optic, confusion in her big green eyes. "What's wrong?"

Ratchet slowly moved his hands away from his faceplate, and looked away from her. "Nothing. It's not your concern Sophie." Ratchet almost choked on his own words. This, all of this, all of her concern. It decided where she went, where she lived, who she lived with. Ratchet didn't want to tell her she would have to leave when Fowler came with her new Foster Parents? Would she cry? Would she be mad at him? Ratchet didn't want to see her cry, it broke his very spark to see her cry. He also didn't want her to be mad at him, he would feel the guilt even after his spark was extinguished.

Sophie looked at him for a moment. "People say that a lot...that nothing's wrong. That's what my mommy said before she went to be with the angels." Ratchet looked at her, optics full of sympathy. "I knew something was wrong, but she didn't tell me." Her breath began to tremble. "W-What if something's w-wrong, and y-you go away like she d-did?" Ratchet could see the tears brimming in her eyes. "W-Will you go away up t-to Heaven l-like they did? I-I know I h-have Otmus a-and Bee Bee a-and Cece a-and Bulky...B-But Watchet, if you go away like my m-mommy and d-daddy..." Sophie sniffled, trying to keep the tears away, but it was too late. Several tears spilled out onto her face, dripping off her chin.

Ratchet picked her up, bring her to optic level. "No Sophie, I'll never leave you. I promise to stay with you, and never leave you." Ratchet said softly. He didn't know if he would be able to keep such a promise, but he would try his hardest to. Sophie sniffled harder, and nodded without a word towards him. "Sophie, there's no need to cry. It's alright, I'm here." He cooed, and was surprised at how well he did it. Bringing her back down on his lap, he brought his servo onto her back gently, belittling all of his strength to softly rub it.

Sophie looked up at him with watery eyes. "But Fowler doesn't like me. He was angry at me." She said. That was the one thing she understood from what had just happened. Fowler was mad at her about something, and he seemed like he was mad at Ratchet too. But her question was, why? Why was Fowler mad? Why was everyone looking at her and Ratchet that way when they went away to Ratchets quarters? And why was Ratchet keeping secrets? She knew he was, just didn't want to say anything. He seemed stressed enough, she didn't want to pester him about something that was none of her business.

Ratchet shook his head, optics softening. "He wasn't mad at you, he was never mad at you. He's mad at me." Ratchet said strongly. "He does like you, everyone does. But, he's made that I like you more than the others." Sophie looked up at him. "You mean a lot to me Sophie, and Fowler doesn't like that. The others are just a bit...surprised by that." He explained. He didn't know exactly how to explain it to her, it was very hard for him. "See...You and I have something very special, where we can feel eachother. Did you feel that strange thing when I was holding you when Fowler was yelling?" Sophie nodded vigorously. "That what it is. I felt your fear of him, and was trying to comfort you without saying anything. Whenever you're scared, I can feel that. Whenever you feel something, I feel it as well." Sophies eyes went very wide, and she nodded again. Ratchet leaned in close to her. "But we can't tell Fowler or the others, so it's a secret, alright?"

Sophie nodded again, for about the third time. There was so many secrets now, she was about to explode with them all. Ratchets special secret, Margaret from the orphanages secret, which was she liked Billy Johnson, Tim's secret, that he was the one that put pop rocks in the toilet, Jacks secret, that he liked a girl named Sierra. But there was a secret she desperately wanted to tell Ratchet, something that she felt weighing down on her. The secret of who killed her parents. She'd seen it, but had been told to keep it a secret. She felt those words wriggling around under her skin, just waiting for her mouth to open and spill out. But, she hadn't told anyone for a year, she could go on longer.

Shaking the thought off, Ratchet cupped her in his servos, and set her down on the berth. "I'm going to get some energon. Now stay here." He directed, and walked out. Opening the door, he peeked his head out, looking around. He was looking for the others, seeing if they were outside his door listening. Bringing his whole body out, he sauntered towards the main area, going towards the mound of energon cubes in the corner. Ratchet kept them on a high shelf to make sure Miko didn't get her hands on it, and burn herself, boil her skin off, stupidly taste it, get radioactive and glow, or overall kill herself with the harmful, yet tasty, substance. Grabbing one of the glowing blue cubes, he brought it towards his mouth, gulping it down.

He brought it away from his faceplate to see Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee and Optimus looking at him. Ratchet set the energon down, and put his servos on his metal hips. "What is it?" He half said, half groaned. The simply stood there, looking at him. Least this time they weren't looking at him with bulging optics and mouths open wide just waiting for flies to fly in there. They all remained silent, and Ratchet rolled his optics. "_Well_?" He urged them on, looking at them expectantly.

Arcee crossed her arms over her chest. "Ratchet, we need to talk." Those simple words put Ratchet on edge. He went into a defensive pose, edging towards the entrance to the hallway, ready to make a mad dash to Sophie if they tried anything.

"I'm not giving her up!" Ratchet howled, surprising the others greatly. "You can't make me! I'll-"

"Calm down Doc 'Bot!" Bulkhead said, looking startled by the medics reactions. "We don't mean it like that! We just want to say," Bulkhead looked towards the others. "We're in." Ratchet stood up straight, and quirked an eyebrow at the four. "We know your really attached to the her, and if it makes you happier and less cranky then you already are, I'm fine with you keeping her." Ratchet scowled at the Wrecker for the comment, but nodded towards them gratefully. Arcee nodded back, and Bumblebee made a few encouraging beeps and whirrs. Optimus gave a tilted smile at his medic, his friend. Ratchet crossed his arms over his chest, looking at them all carefully.

"Now that you all know, that over with. But there's another question. What are we going to do about Fowler?" Ratchet questioned. They all looked at eachother. They knew it wasn't going to be easy, the dark man was very hard to break. He was stubborn, annoying, and bossy. The hardest type of things to work with. Ratchet had a few ideas of what to do with the man. They would step on him, and say it was an accident, run over him and blame it on another unfortunate accident, pick him up and squish him, and blame it on Ratchets eyesight, and say he thought he was one of his tools. Then pick him up and throw him, and say he thought he was one of his wrenches. So many things to do to him, so little time. Ratchet could think of plenty of other things as well, like throwing him to the Decepticons, possibly giving him to Megatron as a pet, get him to quit his job. Ratchet was working on that one, trying to create a hypnotic type weapon. Hypnotize him to quit his job, and then be done with. Ratchet wins, Fowler looses, just the way the red and white mech liked it.

Ratchet thought blissfully of crushing the man several different ways many didn't think possible as the others discussed a more, 'diplomatic' way of doing things. Ratchet didn't want to listen of course, just daydreamed of the many things he could do...so many devious things...

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><p><strong>Jus think of all the messed up things in Ratchets sick little processer...XD<strong>

**Anyway...as for Sophie seeing her parents death, you'll find that out later. Not sure when, but sooner or later...hehehe...I'm just so evil to that little girl, sometimes I feel bad about it. Sometimes.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, to all those people, LetThereBePeace97 specifically, I will be getting to that kind of stuff like making her get sick and all that later. Right now, it's serious stuff! I cannot get distracted by...Oh look a butterfly.**

**Yeah...I seriously think I have ADHD or something...**

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><p>Jack drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He was desperately trying to get rid of the sound of Sophie and Bumblebee's chatting. Or, blabbering. Arcee and Bulkhead were on patrol, and Ratchet had said he needed alone time, so Bumblebee was the only one left. Jack just wanted to drive around for a while, get out of the house and do something. Now he kind of wanted to open the door and roll out of the car to get away from Sophie. But, she was just a little kid, and Jack had seen video tapes of him when he was her age. He was just as annoying, and just as talkative as she was. Times 20. Maybe 50, Jack wasn't sure. The teenage boy could barely go through the entire video without blushing and running out of the room, or just turning it off.<p>

"Bee Bee, what's your favorite color?" Sophie questioned.

Bumblebee let out a few beeps and whirrs, and some weird noises Jack couldn't understand.

"Really? I like purple. It's a nice color. What's your favorite animal?"

This went on for several more minutes, before Bumblebee came to an erupt stop. Jack looked around, searching for the thing that Bumblebee had stopped for. There wasn't any strange cars around, Decepticons, MECH agents, or anything strange looking or dangerous. The car gave a few beeps, and Sophie looked at Jack expectantly. The teenager looked at the toddler with confusion, shrugging his shoulders. Sophie rolled her eyes, and pointed out the window. "Bee Bee stopped 'cause that girl you like is out there." Jack's whole face went red, and looked like a tomato had replaced his head. Bumblebee knew about her? _Arcee..._He mentally snarled. He knew he shouldn't have told her, but it was hard not to when she was constantly around him, 24/7.

Bumblebee rolled down Jacks window, and came to stop at the sidewalk, right beside Sierra. Jack knew he would have to say something as she looked at him with a smile that made him melt. "Hey Jack." She said, voice like music to Jacks ears. He could barely speak, and opened his mouth to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. Inside his head, one sentence was replaying again and again. _God she's pretty. _That was pretty much the only thing going on in his brain, the rest of it was completely and utterly blank. Drool was just about to spill out when Sophie's head popped up from behind Jack with a big smile, and she waved to Sierra.

"Hi! Are you Sierra? Jack says a lot about you! He talks all about how pretty you are and stuff!" Jack had just enough time to push Sophie back down before she could go on. Sierra simply giggled as Jack brushed back his hair, and gave her a nervous smile.

"H-Hey Sierra." Jack stuttered. Sophie popped back up again, looking between the two curiously. Why weren't they kissing and stuff? In the movies they always did. Back at the orphanage, the nicer people used to let them watch movies. The boys watched monster movies while the girls got to watch romance movies. They were always really mushy, and the man and lady always kissed all the time, especially when they were in race cars. Bumblebee was kind of like a race car, so he counted. So why weren't they kissing already? Sighing, Sophie slumped down in her chair. She would just have to wait for the kissing later.

Sierra looked at Sophie, then at Jack. "And who's that back there? She's so adorable!" Sierra cooed. Jack saw his chance, and got out of the car, Sophie in hand. Sierra went all over Sophie in minutes. Girls were suckers for little kids. "And what's your name?" Sierra questioned, still obsessing over how _adorable_ Sophie was. Sophie looked at Sierra, then back at Jack, who was waiting there with a big smug smile on his face as he leaned against Bumblebee.

"I'm Sophie! And that's Bee Bee!" Sophie pointed towards the yellow and black muscle car, and Jack nearly fell over. Bumblebee tried to remain calm as Sierra looked over to the car with a quirked eyebrow. His cover had been blown! What was he supposed to do now? They couldn't have yet another Human on their servos! Three had been quite enough, but then four had just become very troublesome, but _five_? Everyone except Optimus already had their own charge, and their leader was far too busy with the war, Megatron, the Decepticons, and protecting Earth, to protect yet another Human child. And besides, they would have to go through the whole entire speech with Fowler, and go through yet another annoying thing about their government, and how they shouldn't be involving civilians in their war.

Sierra looked at Jack. "Bee Bee?"

Jack scratched the back of his head. "Yeah...that's her...name for the car. I mean, the name for m-my car." He lied. He hated that he wasn't a good liar, it didn't help with his life at all. "Yeah, Sophies my...little cousin. Yeah, she just calls my car Bee Bee because, she can't say Bumblebee. She calls him Bumblebee because of his colors." Jack managed to say that very well. Sierra nodded in understanding, but Sophie looked at him with confusion. Why was he lying? Sierra seemed nice, and Bee Bee was really nice as well, and she thought they would get along swell. So why did Jack not want to her meet him? It confused her, but before she could ask why, Jack put a hand over her mouth, and pulled her towards him. "Well, we gotta go. See you later, at school, or you know, sometime later." Jack said as he pushed Sophie into the car. Sophie tried to open the door again, but the door clicked locked, and Sierra didn't notice as the windows rolled up, preventing Sophie from jumping out either.

Sophie stuck her tongue out at the dashboard, and slumped down in the seat again. "No fair...I wanna talk to Sierra too." Sophie pouted. Bumblebee didn't say anything as he watched the two talk. He was wondering why they weren't telling eachother how much they meant to eachother either. Back on Cybertron, you simply had to tell the certain one how you felt, and be done with. They would either accept your love, or say no to it. But sooner or later, you found that certain one right for you, and bonded with them. That was that, done and finished. But Human love was just so, complicated. They didn't tell eachother, sometimes they barely even spoke to one another. He didn't get why they didn't just say I love you, and either get 'dumped', as Miko and the others put it, or they loved you back. That was pretty much all Bumblebee knew about Human love.

Jack scratched the back of his head once more. "So..."

Sierra put her hands behind her back. "Yeah...I'd better be going. We have school tomorrow, and, you know, cheer practice and all." She said. Jack simply nodded towards her. She walked away, and once out of his sight, and Jack face palmed. Why couldn't he be cool, just for once? Why did he have to look like an idiot who can barely speak in front of girls? He could talk to Miko just fine, but that was because she was just, well, Miko. She wasn't like Sierra, or any other girl, she was difficult to control, yes, but she was easy to be around at the least.

Sighing once again, Jack walked to Bumblebee, leaning against him. The scout gave a small whirr, and nudged him slightly. Jack looked down at him, and patted his hood. "Bee, why did you have to stop." Jack whispered. The scout beeped sadly towards him, and backed away slightly. "Hey, it's okay." Jack said, and watched as the gull door opened for him. Before Jack could get in, Sophie hopped out, and looked at him, arms crossed over her chest. Jack rolled his eyes at the toddler, and tried to get her back into the car. "Come on, let's go home Sophie." Jack said as he tried to get her back in the car.

"Oh, leaving so soon?"

Jack snapped his head towards the voice in pure fear. Dressed in a black suit was someone he thought he would never see in public. Silas. The man looked at him, onyx eyes almost staring into his soul. All of Jacks muscles tensed, and he clung to Sophie tightly, bringing her behind him. "Silas." Jack whispered, anger in that single word. He wanted to rip him in half after what he made his mother go through, but he also wanted to flee in fear of what he might want to do to him. Bumblebee revved his engines aggressively, and wanted desperately to run Silas over. But they were in public. He couldn't transform, or pull out his weapons, he could only watch and call for help. Jack stepped forward a small bit, eyes narrowing. "What do you want."

"You already know what MECH wants boy." Silas grunted. "We want your robotic friends. And we've found their soft spot, the weak link." Silas stepped forward fully, towering over an angry Jack, and a trembling Sophie. "Their Human friends." Jacks eyes widened, and flicked towards Bumblebee, who was edging onto the sidewalk now, headlights flashing on and off. Jack didn't respond to the signal, just looked at Silas. He didn't want to give away anything to the man. "We've found they're quite fond of you, and we plan many things for you three." Silas gave a smug smile as Bumblebee came right beside Jack, most of his form going onto the sidewalk as Jack backed up into the street. "Though you might not survive them all, it will be all worth it to get our hands on some of their technology."

Silas moved forward towards them, and grabbed Jack by the shirt collar, lifting him up off the ground . Sophie looked at his scarred face, and gulped. He looked so awful, so mean. He only gave her a slight glance, then looked back at Jack. "I thought there were three of you." He snarled, and gripped Jacks throat. Jack clawed at his arm, trying to get air back into his lungs. "No matter, as they say, the more the merrier." Sophie watched as jacks face started to go red, and kicked Silas' leg. It didn't seem to hurt him, but his head snapped towards her. He dropped Jack, letting the teenager fall to the ground and gasp for air. He grabbed her, and put her under his arm, putting a hand over her mouth as well. Sophie looked at him in fear, opened her mouth, but didn't scream. Instead, she bit his hand.

Silas immediately dropped her as well, and looked at his hand to see tiny teeth marks in his palm. Jack pulled Sophie towards him, and looked towards Silas as the angry man looked at them. "You brats." He snarled, and reached into his jacket. Jacks eyes widened, and protectively he curled over Sophie, knowing he had a gun. Bumblebee, before Silas could retract the weapon from his pocket, drove in between the man and the children, sliding over the man's toe in the process. Silas looked down at his foot, and gritted his teeth in pain. He was about to pull for his gun again, but a screech of tires and the loud honking of horns stopped him.

All heads looked towards the left to see three cars and one motorcycle coming up, headlights flashing and engines growling. Silas' eyes narrowed at the cars angrily to see Miko and Raf inside of Bulkhead, the Asian girl making a face at him, while the 12 year old boy looked at the man angrily. "I suggest you leave the children alone, and go peacefully." Optimus' voice boomed. "If not," Optimus let a single weapon slip from behind his hide. "I will not be so peaceful towards you." Silas didn't say a word, just stepped backwards, a limp in his step as he went to back up into an alley, disappearing from sight. Arcee nearly knocked Bumblebee driving over towards Jack, making sure her charge was okay. Ratchet was the same, but he actually did push Bumblebee out of the way, coming up beside Arcee.

"Jack, are you two alright?" Arcee questioned as Jack shakily got to his feet, Sophie in his arms.

"Fine, just fine." Jack reassured. "But Silas, I don't even know how he got here." Jack shook his head. "But Optimus, he said he knows your weak link." The truck said nothing, and Bumblebee beeped towards him. "He said we're the weak link. Me, Miko, Raf, Sophie. We're the weak link." Still nothing. "Optimus, he's got something planned for us. I think he wants to-"

"We will put you all under 24 hour protection." Optimus cut in. "We will make sure you are all safe and protected, along with your families." Jack nodded towards him, and looked to Arcee. The blue motorcycle came up to him, blinking it's headlight slightly. Jack smiled, and set down Sophie down, seating himself down onto Arcee. Sophie walked over to Ratchet, who opened his door for her. She climbed in, looked to the dashboard. Ratchet remained silent as he put a seatbelt over her, and began driving in the back of the group. Yet again, without his supervision and protection, Sophie had been put in danger. It was like the child was a magnet to their enemies!

"Sophie, did Silas hurt you in any way?" Ratchet finally questioned.

Sophie shook her head. "No. I kicked him though, and I bit his hand." She said proudly. She was proud of herself for taking care of that big bully. He deserved getting kicked and bit by Sophie, and getting his toe run over by Bumblebee. "He was an even bigger meanie than Joseph." Sophie crossed her arms, and nodded to herself. "Being all creepy and hurting Jackie..." She grumbled. Ratchet gave a dry chuckle.

"Silas is even worse than Joseph. He wants to do many bad things to people, to us, to the whole world." Sophie's eyes went wide. "Whenever you see him, don't go anywhere near him. If he tries anything, call for help, or run away." Sophie nodded. She had been taught the 'stranger-danger' rule before. Never trust strangers. Well, she had already kind of broken that rule. She had trusted Bumblebee, Arcee, and Ratchet when she had first met them. Wait, did robots count for that rule? It was an interesting question, but she would have to think about it later. "He is a very bad person, and wants to hurt you, Jack, Raf, and Miko very badly. Even more then Joseph does, but not as much as the Decepticons do." Ratchet explained. At least he thought it was in that order, MECH might want to hurt the children even more then the Decepticons did.

"Okay Watchet." Sophie said as they entered Base. The medic opened his door, and transformed when Sophie was out of his cab. The other Humans got out, in Jacks case got off, of their guardians, letting them transform as well. Optimus looked to Ratchet and Arcee, nudging his head towards the monitors. The two 'Bots walked over to the corner with their leader, while Bumblebee and Bulkhead chatted with the children. Jack explained what had happened quite quickly, but skipped the part with Sierra.

Miko crossed her arms over her chest. "So the psychos got it in for us." She grunted. Jack nodded, and Bulkhead shook his head.

"If he see him again, I swear, I'll beat the slag outta him."

Sophie cocked her head to the side. "Slag?"

Everyone looked to Sophie, eyes wide. She had actually just said slag. Sure, the three of them could say it because they were older. But Sophie saying slag was like a baby saying the F word as their first words. "W-What did you just say?" Bulkhead asked shakily.

"Slag." She said calmly.

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Uh, don't say that."

Sophie just blinked. "Slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag, slag!"

Everyone tried to block the sound from reaching Ratchets audio receptors, knowing that if he heard her say it, half of them will be welded to the ceiling, several of the others would probably be in the emergency room. They tried to cover her mouth, but she ended up getting spit on Jacks hand. They tried to get her distracted, but for being a four year old, she had a somewhat super sharp focus, and kept saying the Cybertronian swear over and over, each one getting a little louder each time she said it. They tried hiding her, but her yells could even be heard within the compartment in Bulkheads chest. They became even more desperate to shut her up when Optimus finished his talk with the other two.

Everyone began to scoot away as Ratchet picked up Sophie, and walked towards the monitor. Sophie smiled up at Ratchet. "Watchet! Bulky taught me a new word today!" She exclaimed excitedly. The two mechs and three Humans were getting ready to dart for the entrance by now. "It's a really weird one two." The five of them were a few inches away from the exit. Ratchet looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"And what was the word Bulkhead told you?" The five held their breathes as Sophie opened her mouth.

"Slag."

There was a moment of silence, and for a second, the only sound was the clomp of two giants, and the patter of three Humans bolting out of the Base. Ratchet's head snapped towards them, steam literally coming off of the CMO.

"_BULKHEAD_!"


	14. Chapter 14

_Ratchet breathed in and out slowly, letting his blades slide into place. He bent down into a defensive pose, and snarled at his opponent, fiery rage in his blue optics. The red mech circled him like a predator cornering its prey, and smiled wickedly, blood red optics narrowing at something beneath Ratchet. The medic looked down, only to see Sophie clinging to his leg. The small Human shook like a leaf, tears streaming down her face, and dribbling off her chin as she cowered away from the evil red mech. Ratchet felt anger boil inside of his form. "Knock Out." He growled._

_The red mech simply chuckled, a thing that sent chills down Ratchets spine. "We meet again. I see you have your Human pest with you." Knock Out snapped. Ratchet shook with rage, and lashed out at the mech, swiping at him with his blades, a loud battle cry escaping his mouth as he pinned the mech down. Knock Out gave a single blast, but it didn't hit Ratchet, it barely even went near him. Ratchet pressed his foot against Knock Out's throat, and snarled smugly. "You missed," Ratchet brought his blade forward, readying himself to slice the mechs head in half. "Now you lose."_

_Knock Out looked up at Ratchet with a dark smile, and a sinister look in his red optics. "Oh, but I have already won." Knock Out looked past Ratchet, and at something else. Ratchet turned his head, and his spark dropped, his optics widening in horror. Sophie was sprawled out on the ground, a puddle of blood around her, only her leg giving a small twitch. Ratchet didn't care about Knock Out anymore, and only slashed the red mechs face, taking out one of his optics, and ran towards Sophie's limp form. Ratchet fell to his knees, servo quivering as he gave her a small nudge in the side. She felt so cold, so lifeless. But Ratchet refused to believe she was dead. He gently rolled her onto her back, almost choking as he saw her fully. Her body was battered, burn marks on her arms and legs, the ends of her golden locks singed black. _

_Ratchet picked her up, and nudged her again. "Sophie, wake up. Knock Out's gone, everything's alright now." Ratchet croaked, but Sophie didn't open her eyes, she didn't even move. "Sophie, wake up Sophie." Ratchets breathe became frantic. "Sophie, speak to me! You have to wake up!" Ratchet brought the small body towards his spark chamber, and cried. Small energon tears ran down from his optics, falling off his armor and onto the ground. _

_"SOPHIE!"_

"Watchet! Watchet wake up!"

Ratchet jolted awake, looking around in panic, body tense. Where was Sophie? He needed to know, and he needed to know _now_. Looking around wildly, he barely noticed the small tapping noises coming off his leg. He was about to get up when a small yelp alerted him, and he looked to his lap. He sighed in relief, and he relaxed completely. Sophie looked up at him, startled. "Watchet, are you okay? You started sayin' weird stuff in your sleep." She said, and cocked her head to the side as Ratchet smiled down at her. She opened her mouth to question why he was smiling so broadly, but before she could, Ratchet picked her up, and pressed her against his chest plate, though as gently as he could.

"Sophie, don't ever, _ever_ do that again, alright?" Ratchet demanded. Sophies cheek was pressed up against the smooth metal, and she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Do what again?" She managed to say through her smushed face. Ratchet looked at her blankly for a second. He set her down, and looked blankly at the wall now. It was a dream. No, a nightmare more like it. All just a nightmare. And that was how he liked it, a non-real, horrible nightmare. He then noticed something on the wall, and snarled. Another crack. He'd fixed up Carl the Crack already, this must have been a relative of his because it looked exactly the same as Carl. _Slaggin' stupid Caeden the crack..._Ratchet thought.

Ratchet shook it off as Sophie tilted her head from side to side. "Watchet, what's wrong?" Sophie questioned.

Ratchet looked at her, and shuddered his optics. He wouldn't dare tell her about his nightmare, it would frighten her, and make Ratchet feel horrible about it. "It was simply a nightmare Sophie." He said rather quickly. "Now, get back to sleep. It's very late." Sophie yawned, and nodded vaguely as she crawled towards Ratchets chest, and curled up on him. Ratchet sighed, and settled himself back down on his berth. Could something like that actually happen? Ratchet didn't want to think about it, but he knew there were possibilities of it happening. They were at war, anyone could die. But not his little Sophie, right? The mech knew it was foolish to think such a way. Of course one day she would die.

But, as he thought about it, he grew sad and tired. He would outlive Sophie by many, many years. Compared to Humans, they almost lived forever. Humans could only, though barely, live to 100, while Cybertronians could live up to 9,000,000, usually even more. Before Ratchet even became 50, Sophie would die. And Ratchet knew that Humans could die of many things. Diseases, animal bites, broken necks or backs, and usually just some simple, yet fatal, accidents. And the chance of her dying was raised even higher because of the Decepticons. And that chance was also raised even higher because of MECH. And Ratchet knew he couldn't always be there for her, couldn't always be there to get her out of trouble and protect her.

Ratchet sighed heavily. Why was he thinking this way? It was unhealthy, thinking of the many ways his charge, _his_ sparkling, could die. A small whimpering caught his attention, and he looked onto his chest plate to see Sophie eyebrows furrowed, and leg kicking viciously at something she couldn't see. Ratchet sat up, though carefully, and nudged her side. "Sophie." He half said, half whispered. "Sophie wake up." The small child yelped at the touch, and opened her eyes to see Ratchet. The red and white mech rubbed the thick of her back as she sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

"I'm s-sorry Watchet," Another sniffle. "I didn't mean t-to wake you u-up." She stammered.

Ratchet shook his head. "No, you didn't wake me up." Ratchet crossed his leg onto the berth, and set Sophie on his leg. "Now, tell me about your nightmare."

Sophie shook slightly. "W-Well, there was Joseph," Ratchets teeth grinded slightly at the name. "A-And I was there, and h-he was..." Sophie stopped, and Ratchet could sense her fear, and saw that her heart rate was going up. "H-He was..."

Ratchet leaned over. "What? What was he doing?" Ratchet questioned. What was so bad that Sophie could barely speak?

The 4 year old shook her head. "He told me not to tell." She whispered, voice filled with fear.

Ratchet paused. He had done something to her. This wasn't a dream or a nightmare, it was a memory of something. Ratchet leaned down even closer. "Sophie, whatever he did, you have to tell me." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter if he told you not to tell anyone, you have to tell me." She shook her head once more, and looked at the ground. She wanted to tell him, she really did. It was just that if she did, Joseph told her that he would come for her, and kill her and whoever she told. She didn't want him to kill Ratchet, and she didn't want to die herself. "Sophie, please tell me."

Sophie shook her head, and turned away. He couldn't know, he didn't have to. This wasn't his problem. It was her own, and she didn't want anyone to get hurt because she told. Then she would be a tattletale, and she certainly didn't want to be one of those. Nobody liked a tattletale. Would Ratchet like her if she was a tattletale? Would Optimus or Arcee or Bumblebee or Bulkhead like her because she was a tattletale? But it didn't matter. She wouldn't tell them, couldn't tell them. A secret was a secret. Sophie curled herself onto Ratchet leg, and closed her eyes. "Night Watchet." She said.

Ratchet looked at her sternly, but sighed. He knew he wasn't going to get her to talk, at least not tonight. Picking Sophie up, he placed her back onto her chest plate, and laid down on his berth. He would get that secret from her another day, now, he seriously needed some sleep. Closing his optics, he slowly fell into recharge.

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><p><strong>Sorry for such a short chapter :P I'm sick right now, and sickness gives me a lack of inspirtation. But dont worry. After this sickness, the chapters will come flowing in like a river! XD But for now, it's more like a fat dog scooting towards a bouncy ball.<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow, I was wrong about the, 'sickness giving me a lack of inspiration. After several hours of barfing my guts out, and a very scary dream, I was filled with ideas. And this is about the longest chapter I have ever done. Which I am very proud about :) But please enjoy the new, and seemingly long, chapter :)**

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><p>Sophie tried to ignore it, but it seemed impossible. She shifted around uncomfortably under Ratchets stare. He'd been like this since this morning, just starring at her. It must have been her nightmare, the secret she hadn't told him. He was determined to get it out of her, but she wasn't about to crack anytime soon. Though his stares were very uncomfortable and annoying, she wasn't going to give it up. Getting up off the couch, she walked down the stairs, and stopped at the last step. An idea popped inside her head, and she smiled. She knew how to get rid of his stares, at least for now. It was the best plan ever!<p>

Running over to him, she smiled. "Watchet, wanna play hide and seek?"

The mech looked down at her curiously. "Hide and seek?" He repeated. Was it a Human game? If it was, it sounded pretty stupid to him.

"Yeah, it's really fun! You wanna play?" She asked. Ratchet looked at her for a moment, and cautiously, he nodded. Sophie smiled, and pointed at him. "Now, you close your eyes and count to a...a..." Sophie tried to think of a number, but she knew that it would be too easy to count to five, and she wouldn't have enough time to hide. But she didn't know any number past five! Trying to think of a number, she looked around.

Ratchet bent down. "Twenty?"

Sophie smiled up at him. "Yeah! That one! Now, close your eyes, and don't peek." Ratchet nodded, though suspiciously, and offlined his optics. "Now, count to twe...tweety...Whatever you said, and then open your eyes, okay?"Ratchet nodded, completely blind now, and began to count slowly. Sophie smiled, and ran away from him, and down the hallway. She stopped, and looked around for a good hiding place. Ratchets room? No, too obvious. Optimus' room? No, she didn't want to go in there. She smiled broadly as she saw a large crack in the wall, just big enough to fit her. Running over to it, she tried to scramble into it. Her head went in first, and she managed to wriggle her upper body in as well, leaving only her legs.

She finally got her legs in the crack when Ratchet finished. The mech onlined his optics, and looked around. Sophie wasn't there. He then processed that thought. Sophie wasn't there! He looked around in panic. He ran towards the couch, checking if she was there. No. He looked over at the groundbridge tunnel. Not there either. He checked the whole room, yet she wasn't there. Ratchet ran into the hallway, optics wide. "Sophie?" He called frantically, checking in each room. He wasn't in his quarters, not in Arcee's, not in Optimus', not in anyone's! He made a thorough search of the training room, then went onto the storage room, and only grew even more panicked as he didn't find her in any of the rooms.

And all the while, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Optimus watched the medic literally tear the Base apart, room by room. Optimus managed to get a hold of Ratchet as he darted past them, and turned the mech to face him. "Ratchet, what is wrong?" The Autobot leader questioned. Ratchet didn't look at him, just squirmed in his grasp. Finally, the medic swerved his head towards Optimus.

"Sophie's missing! I've looked everywhere and I can't find her anywhere!" Ratchet cried. Everyone looked at eachother in the same panic as Ratchet had. Sophie was missing? And of all the people on Base, Ratchet couldn't find her? Ratchet was like Hound! Whenever you tried to hide from him for check-ups, he _would_ find you. No matter where you were, no matter how small you were, and no matter how good your hiding place was, he _always_ found you. But somehow Sophie had escaped his finding powers? Then this was serious!

Optimus looked to them all. "Arcee, you go with Bulkhead." The two nodded, and headed out for their search. "Bumblebee, you go with Ratchet." The scout, though reluctantly, nodded, and was taken by the arm, dragged away by Ratchet to find Sophie. Optimus went alone, and searched on his own. He didn't even notice as he passed her crack in the wall, the small eye peeking out. So everyone was playing hide and seek now? Great! It was much more fun with more than just two people playing, then it was kind of easy. But why wasn't everyone hiding? _They must be looking for somewhere to hide. _She thought. That made sense. But Optimus would have to find a really good hiding place if he wanted to win. It was kind of hard to miss him anywhere.

"Pssst!" Optimus went straight up at the sound, and looked around cautiously. "Otmus! Otmus, over here!" Optimus cocked his head to the side. That sounded like Sophie. But where in the name of Primus was she that Ratchet couldn't find. Optimus turned around, only to see Sophie, half of her body dangling out of a crack. "Otmus! Over here! Quick, before Watchet comes!" Optimus looked around for a moment, and walked over to her, bending down. Sophie leaned in towards him. "Okay, so if you want to finds a really good hidin' spot, there's a big space right over there!" Ashe pointed down the corner. "It could be big enough to fit you, but-"

"Sophie, what are you talking about?" Optimus questioned curiously.

"Me and Watchet are playin' hide and seek." Sophie explained, and cocked her head to the side. "Aren't you playin' too?" Optimus simply shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Well, do you wanna play?" Optimus simply shrugged again. "Well, I guess you're playin' now." Sophie said with a smile, and suddenly ducked back in her small hole. "There's Watchet! Don't tell him I'm here!" Optimus looked to the side, to see Ratchets shadow coming along. He looked at Sophie sternly, and she made her cutest face she could. "Please?" She pleaded. Optimus sighed, but nodded.

Optimus stood up just as Ratchet and Bumblebee came by. The scout looked absolutely terrified of the medic right now, who was angry, confused, and mad. "Sophie!" Ratchet called. "Sophie, if this is some kind of trick, I want you to come out right now!" Ratchet seemed a bit angry in that sentence, but looked at Optimus with expectation. "Did you find anything?" Ratchet demanded, walking up to him. Optimus looked up at the ceiling for a second, then back at Ratchet.

"I did find Sophie," Ratchet seemed absolutely delighted with that sentence. "But it appears she thinks you are playing a game called, 'hide and seek'." Ratchet looked at Optimus blankly for a second. Sophie was...playing? This game, 'hide and seek', was when a person hid? Ratchet snarled, and smacked his forehead with his servo. Hide and seek. He was such an idiot. A person hid, while the other went to seek them, or in other words, find them. Sophie thought he was playing a game, a game he had agreed to play. "But, I cannot tell you where exactly she is." Ratchet looked up at Optimus in surprise. "I have promised her I would not tell, and that is what I shall do." The Prime walked past Ratchet. "Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to have some energon."

Ratchet looked at him for a moment, and a light bulb appeared in his head. Wait, he could find her through the bond! Of course, it was so simple. Ratchet looked at the wall, and concentrated. He could feel her near, she was somewhere around him. Ratchet stepped backwards. Now she was farther away. Ratchet stepped towards the left. Still farther. It was like another Human game, Hot or Cold. Ratchet stepped to the right. Warmer. He stepped forwards. Even warmer. Ratchet stopped, his whole body tingling. He was warmer than warm, he was on fire! Looking around, he tried to find her. But where could the youngling possibly be?

On the other hand, Bumblebee was having no trouble figuring out where the girl was. She couldn't be anywhere on the ground, and certainly not on the ceiling, so all that was left was the walls. He didn't notice anything on the left, and when he looked to the right, he had to control his static like laughter. Sophie was poking her head out of a small crack, looking at Ratchet as she tried to reach out and poke him with her hand. It was only a few inches away, but she couldn't quite get her hand towards it. And what was the most amusing? Ratchet didn't notice any of it. He was looking at all the wrong places, and not just right beneath his nose. Literally.

Bumblebee beeped softly towards Ratchet. The medic snapped his head towards the scout, his agitation that he couldn't find Sophie clearly showing. "What is it Bumblebee?" He growled. Bumblebee cowered away slightly, and timidly pointed to something near Ratchet. Ratchet looked down, waves of relief flowing over him. Sophie was about halfway out of a crack, and finally, she touched Ratchets leg. She smiled up at a very surprised, yet confused, Ratchet.

Sophie carefully climbed out of the crack, landing next to Ratchet. "You won hide and seek!" She exclaimed, raising her hands in the air. "Great! Now that's over. What do you wanna play now?" Sophie questioned excitedly. Ratchet cocked his head to the side, and looked to Bumblebee for some options of what to say. The scout simply shrugged, looking as confused Ratchet himself. Bumblebee knew about Humans, but he didn't know many Human games. He usually just saw the others play video games, not games that you actually did things. Well, one time Miko did start wrestling Jack, and claimed it was a game and a very normal thing. But Jack had been doing a victory dance when they had betted that boys were better than girls at video games. And Miko didn't seem too happy about it in fact...

Sophie looked at the two. "I'll just pick one then..." She tried to think of one. Tag? No, that probably wouldn't end well. Freeze tag? No, she had to just drop all tag games all together. Red Rover? Even worse than tag, now that she thought about all the damage it could do. The it came to her. Capture the flag! It was fun, and wouldn't cause too much damage because it had to be played outside. She could get Raf and Miko and Jack to come and play too! Looking up to Ratchet, she gave a small bounce of excitement. "Watchet, do you have a phone?"

**XXX**

Miko paced in front of five 'Bots, and three Humans, a very serious look on her face. "Now soldiers, the game we are going to play today is very complicated, and I will, and have always, won it." A small smug smile crept up on her face, and she turned to face the bunch. She had set them up in an orderly line, shortest to tallest, and was acting like she was a general of some military group. Optimus looked down at the Human strangely, Ratchet didn't seem to want to play at all, Bulkhead seemed as confused as Optimus, Bumblebee looked seriously pumped and was ready to play, Arcee had a little sign of amusement on her faceplate, Jack was just kinda standing there with his arms crossed, and Raf was as timid as always. But Sophie, Sophie was the only Human into it. She stood with her chest puffed out, arm ready to bring into a salute at any moment.

Miko went on. "The game we are playing is Capture the Flag, as you all already know. The rules are that you will be split up into two teams, red team and blue team, and each team will head for the opposite side of the forest. Your Bases have been marked, and the flags have been set up. When Mrs. Darby," Miko gestured to the woman standing next to her. "Blows the whistle, you go with the rest of your team towards your Base, and set up your battle plans." He rubbed her hands together, and gave them a devious look. "And then the game begins."

She looked at them all without the, 'I'm-planning-something-evil' look. "Now, Jacks mom, can you, ya' know, pick some team captains." Miko stepped out of June's way, and into the line, wedging herself between Raf and Jack.

June looked at them all with a smile, and brought out a hat from behind her back. "Now, just to be fair, I'm going to choose a name from a hat." She said. June turned her head away from the hat, closed her eyes, and placed her hand in, mixing it around slightly. Her hand stopped, and swiftly, she pulled it out, a small folded piece of paper in her fingers. Bringing it up, she carefully unfolded it, and quickly read it. "Jack is the team captain for Red team." Miko pouted as Jack took his place next to his mother. Miko had hoped she would be picked. June put her hand in the hat again, replaying the process of what she had just done. Pulling out another piece of paper, she read it. "Bumblebee is the team captain for Blue team." The yellow 'bot looked very surprised, and Raf gave him a big smile and a thumbs up as he walked over to the other side of June.

Bumblebee looked at Jack, and nodded, confirming that he wanted him to go first. Jack smiled up at the 'bot, and looked around at the 7 present. But, of course, he had to choose the one he knew was the most agile, the most silent, and his guardian. "Arcee." The femme nodded to him and smiled as she stood next to Jack.

Bumblebee, of course, had to choose his own charge. He let out a small bleep, and Raf walked next to Bee.

Now Jack again. Arcee was out of the way, so he had to choose wisely. Bulkhead could be a distraction, but he was too clumsy. Miko could be useful. She was sneaky, but he didn't exactly trust her that much. Ratchet would probably just complain, Jack already knew that by the look on his face. So it was left to Optimus and Sophie. The two could be very useful. Sophie was small and fast, and wouldn't be easily noticed. But Optimus was a better strategist, and could easily help Jack come up with some kind of plan. So it was settled. "Optimus." Bumblebee's doorwings went down as Optimus sauntered towards Jacks team, knowing now he had a better chance of winning. But he knew that everyone wanted Optimus on their team, and it was only fair.

Bumblebee thought for a moment as well, tapping his chin lightly. So it was left to Miko, Bulkhead, Ratchet and Sophie. But who to choose? He bent down, and whispered something to Raf. The boy nodded, and whispered something back. Bumblebee stood up, and let out a short whirr. Raf smiled. "Miko." The girl fist pumped the air, and ran over to Bee and Raf.

Yet again, it was Jacks turn. Only three left, so it made the decision even harder. Bulkhead, Sophie, and Ratchet. Looking to Arcee, the blue femme looked up to Optimus. The Autobot leader looked to them all carefully, and his optics narrowed at one of them. He flicked them towards the one he had chosen, and Arcee looked to Jack, nudging her head in the same direction. Jack nodded, and pointed to the chosen one. "Sophie." The little girl gave a small bounce as she scrambled over to them. Jack could have sworn if she had a tail, it would probably be smacking against his legs right now as she looked up at him excitedly.

Now it was Bumblebees choice again. The person he chose would go onto his team, and Jack would have no choice but to accept the other he had not chosen. Bumblebee looked to the two, optics narrowing. He wouldn't do the eany-meany-miney-mo trick, not for this choice at least. Ratchet could be useful with his scanners, to see where everyone was, but he knew that Miko would hate him if he didn't choose Bulkhead. The wrecker had his advantages though, and thinking like Jack had, he would probably be used for a distraction. Bumblebee pointed to Bulkhead, and the mech romped over to them. Miko smiled broadly, and hugged Bulkheads leg as he came to stand next to her. Ratchet simply grumbled something under his breath as he walked towards Jacks side, crossing his arms over his chasis.

June nodded to them all, and raised the whistle. "Okay, on your mark..." Everyone leaned towards their sides. "Get set..." Jack got into a running position. "GO!" June blew the whistle, and everyone stampeded towards their sides, though the Autobots were careful not to step on the Humans, or harm them while running in any way. Optimus was first to reach Blue base, followed by Arcee, Jack, Sophie, and finally, a very out of breath Ratchet. Optimus turned to see a large cavern, with the words spray painted into the top of the small cave that said, "BLUE TEAM", and their flag in the middle of the cave.

Jack took a minute to catch his breath, and stood straight, clearing his throat. "Okay, we need some kind of strategy." He said, instantly grabbing everyone's attention. "Two of us will have to stay here, while the other three will go out and try to find the other teams, Base, and capture their flag." Jack looked at them all. "Optimus and Ratchet, you two will stay at Base and guard our flag." The two nodded, understanding Jacks choice. They were the strongest on their team, and certainly not the fastest or the stealthiest. "Arcee, Sophie, and I will go out and try to get their flag. Understood?" Arcee, Optimus, and Ratchet nodded towards Jack, and Sophie gave him a salute. Jack smiled, and watched as Optimus and Ratchet took their places in front of the flag.

Jack started walking, Arcee and Sophie behind him. They soon could barely see Optimus and Ratchet behind them, and Jack was slinking from here to there, to and fro. Arcee was pouncing through the trees, sensors on high alert for any signs on movement, while Sophie literally vanishing and reappearing through the trees. To Arcee, this seemed more like a training session then a simply game. But she liked it this way, to be competitive and aggressive without actually having to kill someone. Jack stiffened as he heard muffled talking, and hid in a bush, watching as Arcee covered herself by going higher in the trees, her whole form covered by leaves and branches. Sophie was still nowhere to be seen, still in ninja mode and out of sight.

Jack soon saw who was coming for their flag. Bumblebee and Miko were stepping carefully, voices in a whispered tone as their eyes flicked from side to side, trying to find something. Jack felt a tap on his shoulder, and nearly blew his cover when he saw Sophie next to him. How had she even gotten there? She was maybe even sneakier then Miko, if that was even possible! Jack shook it off, and looked back at Miko and Bumblebee. "So Bee, how do wanna go in?" Miko asked. "Wanna do a sneak attack, and get them while they're not looking, or be all secret agent and go in all sneaky like?" She said, and made a fake gun, rolling onto the ground and making a few bang noises. Bumblebee simply shrugged, and kept walking. The yellow mech walked right past the two Humans, unaware of their presence completely.

They two finally were far away enough, the Jack stood up, and went back to creeping. He now knew that the two guarding the Red teams flag was Raf and Bulkhead. Easy enough. He felt the small thud behind him that indicated that Arcee had dropped down from the treetops, and looked over his shoulder to see her walking behind him. Jack watched as Sophie rolled across the forest floor in front of them, and behind a tree. As Jack passed it, he saw nothing there but the wind. Shaking his head, he looked to Arcee for answers. The blue 'Bot simply shrugged. She didn't know how the kid did it either.

Jack paused, and jumped behind a tree as he saw what they were looking for. The Red base. He looked to see Arcee no longer behind him, and looked in front of him to see Sophie hiding in yet another bush, looking to Jack. The teenager looked to Raf and Bulkhead. Raf was cleaning his glasses at the moment, and Bulkhead looked half asleep. The perfect chance to strike. Pointing to Sophie, he flicked his head towards the entrance, right where the flag was. Sophie nodded, and slunk away from his sight. Looking up, he saw Arcee's glowing blue optics. "Cover her." He whispered as quietly as he could. Arcee nodded, and jumped off. Jack waited for a moment, and sighed. He would have to be the distraction. Getting ready, he saw Sophie slowly, on all fours, stalking towards the flag. Before the two could notice, Jack jumped out from behind his tree, running around.

Bulkhead looked at Jack, and Raf almost dropped his glasses as Jack began to shout. "I'm gonna win!" He made a face. "Come and get me you losers!" Jack felt horrible, and knew that was totally him being out of character, being not himself. But the two didn't seem to notice that, and lunged towards him, trying to take him as their prisoner. It bought Sophie enough time grab the flag quickly. Or at least try to get it. She tried to pull the flag out of the ground, but it just wouldn't budge. It was spiked in too deep, or too deep for her small strength. She pulled at it, bent it, almost broke it, but it wouldn't come out. Arcee quietly landed near her, and quickly pulled it out, bringing up Sophie in the process. The small girl clung to the pole of the flag as Arcee pounced back up into the trees, just as Jack was about to be taken as prisoner. Jack saw Arcee flash away through the trees, and knew she had gotten it.

Looking towards the two, he took off in a full out run. He easily lost the two, and soon became out of breath, stopping to regain it. He saw their Base just up ahead, and walked towards his cheering team. Coming up to his teammates, he saw something that made his burst out laughing. Optimus held the collar of Miko's shirt between his digits, and the girl angrily dangled helplessly. But Bumblebee had it worse. Ratchet was roaring at the yellow mech for some reason, but it was soon explained. Miko and Bumblebee had snuck up on the two, and Ratchet had almost had a spark-attack when Bumblebee had tackled him. Ratchet had thought they were being attacked by Decepticons, and started shouting things none of them understood. Of course, when he realized it was only Bumblebee, the mech had gone into a full blown rant about how he was older, and how he could have sent him into stasis lock and all of that. Miko had been simply hanging there all the while, completely and utterly bored. Now she was just plain humiliated.

Arcee held the flag victoriously up in the air, and Sophie pranced underneath her, cheering and hooting. Jack shrugged, and joined in with their victory dance, using his own one in front of Miko. But this was a special dance, the kind he used when he used when he won a video game. Miko fumed at this, and scratched the air, shrieking for Optimus to put her down so she could pummel Jack. Optimus simply laughed, but suddenly, he stopped. Stopped moving, breathing, and blinking. Everyone stopped what they were doing as well, looking up at him strangely. Even Ratchet had stopped his rant for Optimus. "Otmus, what' wrong?" Sophie questioned, cocking her head to the side.

Optimus looked forward, body tensing, optics narrowing. "Bulkhead has just commed me." Everyone looked at him. "He has spotted Decepticons."

Everyone went silent for a moment. Bumblebee was the first to transform, and sped off into Bulkheads direction. Raf was in danger, and that was all he needed to know. Arcee was next, and Optimus was last to transform, heading towards the others. Ratchet didn't, knowing he couldn't leave the children alone. He wouldn't when Sophie was there. Turning back to the three startled Human children, he quickly hurried them towards the cave, sweeping them to the deepest part of it. He looked back over his shoulder, already hearing the sounds of gunshots and battle cries. He protectively curled over them, though his optics were kept onto Sophie. The small girl didn't know what was going on. They had just been playing, and then everyone just suddenly became serious. The only word she truly understood was Decepticon. She knew that was bad, very bad, extremely bad.

The screech of tires alerted them all, and Ratchet got out his weapons snarling towards the entrance to the cave. To his relief, Bumblebee poked his head in, optics curious and wide. Raf poked his head in as well, and the yellow mech brushed him inside the cave, disappearing from their sights. "Rafael, get behind me." Ratchet instructed. The boy looked quite shaken, and scurried over to the medic, quickly hiding behind him. Jack looked at them all with worry, knowing this would not end good. They hadn't been prepared for this, and the 'Cons probably had the upper hand. They didn't exactly know what they wanted, but nothing they wanted was ever good. The earth suddenly trembled, and Ratchet tensed, and Jack grasped Sophie and Rafs hands tightly. Miko held onto Jacks arm, and for once, looked a bit fearful of what was going on outside. A sudden explosion almost made Ratchet fall over, but he kept his ground, only growing more and more worried.

Then, it went silent. Jacks heart pounded loudly in his chest, and Miko was grabbing so hard on his arm the blood circulation to the rest of the limb was being cut off. He briskly gave her a look, and she loosened her grip, though did not let go. Raf and Sophie were trembling all over, sensing the danger in the air. Something was wrong, all was not well. Ratchet picked this strange sense up from Sophie, and it only made his worry grow. What if someone had gotten hurt? He couldn't leave the children alone and defenseless, just waiting for the 'Cons to get their slimy claws around them. He growled, and touched the side of his head. "Optimus, come in Optimus."

No response, only a small static like sound.

Ratchet grew even more frantic then he had been this morning. "Arcee, respond!"

Still, there was nothing but static.

"Bulkhead, you lug-nut! Answer!"

The sound of static enraged him, and frightened him at the same time.

"Bumblebee!"

_-Yes Ratchet?-_

Ratchets spark fluttered with joy at the sound. "Bumblebee, where are the others? " He questioned rather quickly.

_-I don't know. I'm still trying to find them myself- _

Bumblebees words brought no relief to Ratchet what so ever. "Bumblebee, retreat. I don't know what happened to Optimus, Arcee, or Bulkhead, but I fear the worse." Ratchet quietly looked down at the four children, then to the entrance of the cave. "But I need you to come back to the cave. We don't know how many Decepticons are out there, and I need to get the children back to Base." Bumblebee gave a click of confirmation, and ended the comm. Ratchet looked outside patiently, but his eyes were worried. Where they Pit were the others? He needed to know if they were injured, or worse. Offlined. Those thoughts brought shudders down his spine. They had already lost one comrade this year, they didn't need to lose another to Decepticon hands.

Ratchet watched as a yellow and black muscle car headed their way, and a small flitter of hope came into Ratchet. But the hope vanished as a blast knocked the car over, tumbling out of sight. Ratchet's optics widened as he heard pain whirrs, and Raf looked ready to cry at the sound. Ratchet pushed himself as far back into the cave as he could, shielding the children as a 'Con came into his view. But the drone didn't seem to take notice of him, and passed by the cave, unaware of Ratchet, and the Humans, presence completely. More blasts, and more cries came from outside. Raf actually started crying, though as silently as he could, and cuddled into Jack as the teenager hugged him tightly. Miko brought Sophie close to her, needing to comfort the confused child, and needed something to comfort herself as well. She'd seen plenty of the Autobots battles, without permission most of the time, but had never seen, or heard them, actually getting hurt.

The good guys never got hurt, never died, always won. That was the way it was in movies and comics. That was the way it was in real life, right?

Ratchet couldn't take it anymore. Bumblebees screams echoed inside of his helm, and Ratchet turned towards Jack. "Stay here, and _don't _move." Ratchet hissed, and ran out of the cave. He saw the 'Con drone only a few feet away, his weapon armed and aimed right at Bumblebees spark chamber. The scout simply laid limply, optics struggling to stay online. Ratchet snarled, and felt his weapons in place. Lunging at the drone, he tumbled downwards, slicing and dicing the mech into scrap. He landed, pinning the mech down. The drone looked up at him, red optics covered by the mask placed in front of his faceplate. Good, at least Ratchet wouldn't have to see his distorted expression after her was finished with him.

**XXX**

Jack breathed in and out heavily, grasping everyone around him, pulling them in closer to him. He didn't know what to do, and although he knew where Ratchet went, he didn't know when or if he was coming back. No, there was no if. Ratchet was going to come back. He hoped. Jack looked at the entrance to the cave, and gulped. It wasn't safe here anymore, not without Ratchet. Jack cautiously stepped forward, pulling the others along, he had to find Arcee, he couldn't live with himself if she was dead. But, if she was, he was not going to go without getting her body for a proper burial. Carefully, he took more steps, and little by little, he was nearing the edge of the cave.

Only one more step, and they were out from beneath their cover. Looking to Miko, the Asian girl looked him in the eyes, and nodded. She wanted the same for Bulkhead, and all of them wouldn't go without making sure Optimus, of all the Autobots, was alive. They needed him the most, all of them did. Jack took a deep breath, and stepped out. Looking around, he let everyone go, and took a step forward, taking the lead. Miko came up next to him, then Raf. The three looked back to see Sophie, who was standing near the caves entrance. They all knew that they couldn't bring her with them, she would be devastated if they found dead Autobot bodies. So they looked to eachother knowingly, and nodded. They would leave her behind. It was for the best.

Raf turned, and put a hand on Sophies shoulder. "We'll be right back, okay?" Raf said. Sophie cocked her head to the side, but nodded. The three looked to eachother once more, and began to walk. Whatever they found, at least she wouldn't have to see it. Nothing could happen to her there.

At least they hoped.

Sophie just watched as they went, and cocked her head to the other side. Why were they leaving? Where was Ratchet? Why was she alone now? Questions buzzed inside of her head, but all her thoughts came to a sudden stop at a noise behind her. It sounded like something was puncturing the ground, and a faint hissing whispered in her ear. Looking behind her curiously, she saw a figure silhouetted in black, with faint purple and gold. It looked like a giant spider, but not one at the same time. But, she couldn't judge a person by their looks. Ratchet had been very big and scary at first, but he turned out to be fairly nice. It wasn't nice, and wasn't very polite to the person if she said something about their figure, so she simply looked at her in awe. Besides, Ratchet had once warned her about red optics, and how they showed they were a Decepticon. The figures weren't red, they were purple. So that meant she was nice...

Right?


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, to start, lets answer a question...**

**StoryMaker7 asks, "What happened to June?"**

**Simple. After her part in Capture the Flag was done, she went home. Her car was parked at the edge of the forest, and she drove back to her house. Though when she hears about what happened, she'll probably have a giant freakout.**

**And to Shocked out of my mind, no, this is not Megatron. I know he was purple optics, but this is NOT Megatron in anyway or form. Man, I thought I gave you guys enough hints with the whole spider thing...**

**And now...THE 100TH REVIEWER AWARD! This very special award goes to none other than StoryMaker7! Congratulations!**

**And a very special shout out to ratchestfangirl. I'm sorry to hear that someone in your family died :(*Bows head* Let's have a moment of silence for that person...*small, awkward silence* Um...*clears throat* So...yeah...**

**On with the chapter...*runs away***

* * *

><p>Sophie watched as the strange creature crawled out of the darkness, sharp, talon like wedges at the end of her many legs hitting the ground. Now in the somewhat light, Sophie got a good look at whatever it was. It looked like a girl, at least from what she saw, and had large claw like hands. But no matter, she couldn't judge by appearance, she wouldn't be mean like that. The spider like robot circled around her, purple optics narrowing. "Are you one of the Autobots pets?" Sophie cringed at the coldness in her voice, and felt a sudden twinge of fear swelling up inside of her. Though she didn't know why she put the word 'pet' in there. Pets were puppies or kittens, maybe even a little hamster. But she was not, and never would, be a pet, of any kind.<p>

But, Sophie nodded timidly. The spider 'con paused, and let a dark smile slide onto her metallic lips. Her smile made Sophie shudder. Something didn't feel right about this, Sophie didn't know what, but something definitely wasn't right about this one. "A-Are you an Autobot?" Sophie stuttered. The spider 'con stopped for a second, and let a more sly smile broaden her already dark one. She was starting to scare Sophie greatly, and as she came close to her, Sophie could only let herself tremble slightly. Now she _knew _that something was seriously wrong. The look in her purple optics wasn't too friendly looking, and now she wasn't sure if this was a 'Bot or a 'Con.

"I'm not Autobot," Sophie felt her heart pounding in her chest. The dark creature gave a gruesome smile, and showed her large claw like fingers, leaning even closer. "Run." Her voice was a whisper, filled with chilled evil. Sophie felt energy, fear filled energy, pulse through her, and ran. She ran as fast as she could, faster than she ever had in her entire life. She heard the Spider 'Con laugh, and heard her crawling behind her. It just made her more scared, and she ran faster. "Run child!" Sophie heard the 'Con call. "No matter how fast you are, I'll get you!" The thing chuckled at the end of her sentence. Sophie felt numb with fear, running without any real direction in mind. She just wanted to find someone that would help, anyone! She flung forwards, tripping over the root of a tree. Scrambling back up, she tried to keep going, but her ankle hurt so much.

Sophie heard a snap, and cried out in pain, falling over. Looking back, her eyes welled with tears as she saw the Spider 'Con drawing closer. "Before I kill you," Sophie watched as she leaned in closer, and it seemed like she was choking on the air she was trying to swallow down. "I like to know my victims personally. Besides, you should know my name before you die." She grew tall, only her poisonous purple optics visible. "I am Airachnid." The demon like spider 'con let a sign of dark amusement cross her expression as Sophie trembled and cried uncontrollably. Airachnid looked at her claws with slight boredom. "Now, would you like an agonizingly painful death, or pure seething torture as your final moments?" She questioned, and when Sophie didn't answer, shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Fine, then I'll choose."

Sophie could only whimper as Airachnids claws covered her vision.

**XXX**

Jack walked carefully, following the signs of battle. A few blast marks here and there showed a path of where they went, and several puddles of energon filled Jack with despair. Raf was the calmest, knowing Bumblebee was probably safe with Ratchet. Miko looked to Jack with a strained smile as they saw a toppled over tree. "Bulkheads handy work." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, even a little. Jack gave a small smile, and looked ahead. A few more toppled over trees, and even larger puddles of spilled energon. Jack tried to suck down some air, and with wobbly legs, began to walk forwards. He hesitantly looked back at Raf and Miko, who were urging him on. Jack gulped, and carefully and cautiously, walked as strongly as he could towards where a large trail of energon was leading.

He really wished he hadn't.

Jack could barely breathe from what he saw. Arcee was sprawled out on the ground, several claw marks slicing through her stomach. Her optics were dimmed, and she was snarling in pain. Jack slowly came towards her, horror in his eyes. "Arcee?" The boy called out. The blue femme looked at him in surprise, optics widening a small fraction. "Arcee, where are the others? What, what happened to you? Where did the 'Con come from?" Jack had so many questions, but he didn't want to bombard Arcee while she was in such a horrible state. Arcee grunted as she tried to face him, but it was useless. Sighing, she closed her optics, and gently touched her wounds, cringing in pain.

"They...they came out of nowhere..." Arcee began. "We were helping Bulk, when they just came...more and more, one after another..." Arcee seemed to go into a daze, but quickly snapped out of it. "Optimus...he...they cornered him...don't know where they went...maybe...maybe down the valley." Arcee shook her head. "I don't know...Bulkhead went to find...to find Ratchet." Arcee's optics widened again, looking at them angrily. "Ratchet was supposed to...protect you guys. Where...where is he?" She questioned. Jack looked at her for a second, and rubbed his arm.

"He went to go help Bumblebee. We didn't know what was going to happen, so we kinda came out and were looking for you. Well, any of you guys." He said with a shrug.

Arcee looked at him again, and then at the two behind him. Someone was missing. She looked to Jack with extreme concern. "Where's Sophie?"

"We left her back at the cave." Jack said, jerking his head behind his shoulder.

Arcee tried to bring herself upwards, but her body didn't want to cooperate. "No...no!" Arcee growled. "You need to find...to find her!" Arcee flipped onto her stomach, desperately trying to get up. She weakly brought herself into a small crouch, but fell over onto her side in pain. She turned to Jack cringing. "Jack...you have to...to find her. I...can't get up, you have to get her...she's here..." Arcee whispered, anger in her voice.

Jack was extremely scared by now, and walked up to Arcee, placing a hand on her arm. "Arcee, who's here? Why do we have to find her?" Jack questioned, growing very nervous. Arcee was never afraid, not like this. What was wrong, and why was Arcee trying so hard to get to Sophie. Arcee's optics suddenly became dull, and Jack clutched onto her metal arm tighter. "Arcee, come on, you have to stay awake!" Jack cried. "What's out there?" Arcee opened her mouth, but nothing seemed to come out. "Arcee!" Jack almost screamed her name, trying to fight back tears.

"Arachnid..."

**XXX**

Ratchet helped Bumblebee up, letting the scout drape an arm over him for support. "Just take it easy Bumblebee." Ratchet instructed. Bumblebee looked at Ratchet, optics glazed over with half consciousness. Bumblebee only vaguely nodded towards Ratchet, and the medic shook his head. He'd managed to keep Bumblebee from going into stasis, but he needed to get to the med bay soon. He was barely hanging on, and Ratchet was getting worried as he began to drag his left leg.

A sudden pain filled Ratchet, and the medic suddenly dropped Bumblebee, clutching his side. Bumblebee, probably from being knocked down, looked up to Ratchet with shock, now fully awake, and worried for the medic. Ratchet looked himself over for a minute, seeing if anything was wrong with himself. Had the drone really done that much to him? He had just gave him a punch, not much. It was nothing compared to what Ratchet had done to him. A pang of fear, and even more pain, fell onto Ratchet. He cried out, and curled over in pain. What was happening to him?

Then he realized what was going on, and dread spread throughout his entire frame. Sophie was in danger. No, she was in more than just danger, something was physically hurting her. Ratchets fears were confirmed by a scream of pain, and this time it wasn't his own. Ratchet didn't wait for Bumblebee as he ran off towards the scream. _Sophie! I'm coming! _Ratchet called through their bond. He only got a faint sense of comfort, only to be shattered by even more pain. Ratchet felt pain soar down into his ankle, and toppled over. Teeth gritted with pain, but he wouldn't give up. He brought forward his elbows, and crawled on the ground, every move bringing even more pain towards him.

"That's it Human, cry for the Autobots! It will do you no good!"

Ratchet felt anger flow through him at the voice. He didn't know what Arcee might have done if she heard this voice, but he knew what he was going to do. Struggling to get up, Ratchet shakily to his feet, using sheer rage to drive him on. Every step he let out a grunt of effort, and fell to his knees several times. _She needs me. _Ratchet repeated the sentence in his processer, and growled as he fell to his knees for the fifth time. Looking up, Ratchet felt a flame of fury burn in his spark. Arachnid was hovering over Sophies small body, talons raised and ready to strike her again. Ratchet got to his feet quickly, and ran towards the Decepticon femme, tackling her. Ratchet let out an unearthly cry as he grabbed the femmes throat, his grip already crushing it slightly. Arachnid looked up at him, and managed to hiss before bringing up her claws, swiping his arm.

Ratchet recoiled, looking at his hide with pain. Acid burned on it, sizzling and melting into it. Ratchet watched s she transformed, letting her spider like legs retract onto her back. He reached out with his good arm, and grabbed one of the legs. With little strength, he pulled out the limb, throwing it out into the woods. Arachnid howled in pain, and looked at the red and white mech with hatred for ripping away the appendage. She swiped at Ratchet, managing to come in contact with his thigh and cheek. Ratchet felt the green liquid seer through his metal skin, but ignored it. He brought out his blades, and raised them. He let them blow down onto her head, causing it to dent badly. The Spider 'Con wavered slightly, and took a step back before falling over, falling into stasis lock.

Ratchet snarled victoriously, and raised his weapon again, readying himself to deliver the final blow. He would do it for Sophie, for Arcee, for Tailgate, and all others she had harmed in her lifetime of killing.

"Watchet?"

The medics optics widened, and he turned to see Sophie. The girl was a mess, covered in a mixture of sweat, dirt and blood. So much blood. Several large gashes covered her arms and legs, and a large slice was drawn upon her face. She seemed like she couldn't stand, due to her awful swollen, purple ankle. She looked tired, and scared. Her eyes were round with fear, but it was not directed at Arachnid. This fear was of Ratchet. She'd never seen him like this, so angry. She had watched the fight, and was frightened of Arachnid, of course, but most of her fear was of Ratchet. He was a doctor, and doctors were supposed to save people. They weren't meant to kill people, to beat them down into unconsciousness. Sophie felt his pure rage, and was frightened by the images his mind showed. They were of him, ripping out Arachnids spark. Of him, ripping Arachnid apart limb by limb. Of him, literally and utterly mauling the Spider 'Con.

Ratchet breathed in and out heavily, optics wide. He looked down at the battered 'Con, and realized what he was doing. He wanted to kill Arachnid ever so badly, but he would never do such a thing in the presence of Sophie. Letting his blades slide away, he stepped away from Arachnid, drawing all of his attention to Sophie. Up close, she looked tired, weary of all that had happened. Ratchets scanners showed a large mass of blood loss, and a broken ankle, possibly even a broken leg. Carefully, he picked up Sophie. As soon as he did, she became limp in his servos. Ratchet looked down at her with extreme worry. Even closer. Her face suddenly became twisted with pain, and her breathing as quick and raspy. Ratchet, for once, didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say, how to act. There was only one word that came into his processer. Protect. He didn't know if it was the bond that was urging this very sudden and very strong feeling, but he didn't care.

Sitting down, her brought Sophies body to his chest, letting her hear his spark beat. He felt her fear, and her small, faint sense of numbness. Footsteps behind him made Ratchet spin his head around. Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee stood behind him, optics filled with concern. Optimus tensed at Ratchets stare though. Something was off about the medic, he didn't know exactly what, but something was off. Optimus extended a hand towards Ratchet, but the medic gave him a animal like growl, optics narrowing. "Get away." Ratchet snapped. The three looked to eachother with shock. That didn't sound like Ratchets voice, it was so deep, so cold, so dark. Bumblebee stepped forward, beeping softly. Ratchet jumped up, facing them. "I said _GET AWAY!_" Ratchet howled.

Optimus then noticed the thing that Ratchet was holding against his chasis, and his optics widened in horror. Sophie. The small child was huddled up, some of her blood smearing onto Ratchet, and dripping off his servo. But the medic didn't notice this, and had started growling at Bulkhead and Bumblebee even more. Bulkhead put his hands in front of him. "Calm down Ratchet!" He said frantically. They watched in fear as a Ratchet brought out his blade, ignoring the stinging pain from the acid. Bulkhead and Bumblebee took a step back as Ratchet raised his weapon to strike them. Optimus stepped in between them, optics hard and worried. "Ratchet, what are you doing?" Optimus said, and Ratchet looked at him with a dull look. "Ratchet, please. Just listen to me. Sophie is hurt very badly," Ratchet glanced down at the extremely pale Human in his servos, then back at Optimus. "She needs a doctor Ratchet. She needs to be taken to Hospital."

Ratchet barely let those words process before he pushed Optimus away, holding Sophie to him with both servos. "No! We can't be separated! She needs me!" Ratchet cried, looking down at her small body. He knew his spark was barely the only thing keeping her from feeling the pain of her wounds right now, he could feel it. She would be in pain if she was taken away from him, and with her pain, he would hurt too. He didn't want her to hurt, her wounds were not fatal, but they were certainly quite critical. "She'll hurt if she leaves me..." Ratchet looked away, getting his common sense back. They were trying to help him, not harm Sophie.

Optimus shook his head. "She'll be in even more pain if she doesn't get medical assistance." Ratchet looked up in defense. "_Human _medical assistance." Ratchet looked down. Not at Sophie, just at the ground. He saw the blood stained grass, and energon spilled all over the soil. This was his fault. He shouldn't have left them alone, he should have stayed with them, or at least brought them along. Looking to Optimus, he handed Sophie to him willingly. Optimus carefully took her into his servos, and felt his stomach churn as he felt the thick, warm, crimson blood spill onto his servo.

Ratchet finally felt Sophies pain, and his own wounds pain pound down onto his shoulders, and he wavered slightly. His optics dimmed, and he took a step forward. He looked to Optimus wearily. "Help her Optimus..." With that, Ratchet fell over with a loud thud, stiffening as he went into stasis. Sophie's body jerked unnaturally, and her eyes popped open. She emitted a loud scream, writhing in pain. She felt Ratchet, his fear, his dread, his sorrow, his confusion, his pain, his anger. All of the emotions he had tried to block, now flowed out like a river, and bashed into her. So many emotions, she didn't have enough room to contain them all. Ratchet gave a twitch of his own, and let out a small groan.

Bulkhead looked at both, startled. "Optimus, what's going on with her?" Bulkhead questioned, then looked to Ratchet, who was having even harder spasms and twitches. "What's going on with him?" Optimus simply looked at Bulkhead for a moment, before turning away. He transformed down, but did it very slowly. He didn't want anything to happen to Sophie in his transformation, and carefully let her slide into his cab once fully transformed. He took off into the woods, leaving behind Bulkhead and Bumblebee to look after Ratchet. Navigating the destination to the nearest Hospital, he swerved onto the road outside the woods, using all the speed and energy he had. He sped down the dirty roads, leaving a dust cloud behind him. Sophie lay inside him, nervously just laying there. Her breath was labored, and she bit her lip in pain so hard that a little blood was starting to show up.

Optimus felt his own spark rate rise, and contacted the only person who could help at the moment. "Mrs. Darby!" He almost cried, but tried to remain calm, for Sophies own sake. Optimus felt annoyance build up inside of him as there was no answer, only the faint sound of ringing in his audio receptors. "June, this is an emergency!" Optimus couldn't keep himself leaving out the faint sense of annoyance and worry out of his usual calm and baritone voice

_-Optimus? What's wrong? Did Miko get poison ivy again?- _There was slight amusement in her voice. Optimus felt Sophie weakening in his seats, grunting in pain, and looking at her dark, bleeding cuts, and her sickening swollen ankle.

"Mrs. Darby, we have an emergency. I need you to meet me at the Oakville Hospital." Optimus said. He could already feel the tension on the other end of the phone.

_-Optimus, what happened? Who's hurt? I need to know if Jacks hurt-_ June sounded suddenly grave.

"Your son is fine Mrs. Darby..." Optimus looked inwardly at Sophie, her bleeding wounds never seeming to stop. She was so pale, and Optimus could almost feel her feaer in the air. Optimus didn't know what Ratchet would do at this point, and he himself had no other instinct then to drive as fast as he possibly could at this point.

"And please, hurry."

**XXX**

When Arcee heard that scream, that high pitched, spine tingling scream, she knew what had happened, what was happening. Brute strength spread through her limp form, strength of anger, of vengeance. Arcee roared with pain as she stood up, but only limped slightly as she walked forward, stepping past Jack, and walking over Raf and Miko. She ignored their stares, and staggered on, grunting in pain at every movement she made. She would get Arachnid, she would kill that filthy little fraggin' spider 'con if it was the last thing she ever did. Arcee would allow no one, not even Optimus, to deactivate Arachnid. No one except herself would get that honor, finally ripping out the evil femmes spark. "She will pay..." Arcee growled under her breath, this new anger only fueling her strife to go on further.

Jack suddenly jumped in front of her, holding up his hand in front of her. "Arcee, stop." He said sternly. "Your hurt real bad, you can't fight anyone while you're like that. Especially not..._Her_." Jack shuddered for a moment, but stood tall. Arcee looked down at him with cold optics, but didn't say a word as she tried to step over him. He gently touched her shin, and shook his head, looking up to stare her square in the optics. "No Arcee. I won't let you go any further. You need to see Ratchet." Arcee looked at him blankly, and tried to go around him. But he simply blocked her path once more, a very serious and determined look on his face. "Arcee! I'm serious! If you go, you could die!"

Arcee looked at him fiercely. "I don't care if I die!" She snapped, surprising Jack. "At least then I could be with 'Cliff and Tailgate! It wouldn't make a difference if I offlined anyway! So many have died already, what's one more deactivated femme going to do?" She growled in a tone none of the Humans present had ever heard before. "I'm going to fight Arachnid, and I'm going to kill her," Arcee looked forward, bravery in her optics. "Or die trying."

Jack looked at her with disbelief. "Arcee, if you die, the odds are against the Autobots! We've already lost one so far, we don't need to lose you too!" Jack cried. "And you're not just some femme! You're an Autobot! The best one I've ever seen in fact." Miko and Raf simply starred at Jack as he looked towards the ground. "You're my motorcycle, you're my friend. No, you're like my family Arcee. I've already lost my dad," Jack tried to hide the tears forming in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you too."

Arcee looked at Jack, sympathy in her optics. He never spoken about his father before, barely even mentioned him. No one ever brought the topic up, not knowing if the man had left Jack and his mother, or just simply died. None of them knew for sure, but they all did know it was a sensitive topic. "Jack..." Arcee sighed, looking away. "I know my condition, and I know that you care about my safety, and are concerned about me," She looked him in the eye, fists clenching tightly. "But I need to do this. I _have _to do this." She nodded to him. "For Tailgate." She said strongly. Jack looked at her, and finally, he looked away with a curt nod towards her.

Arcee only looked at Jack for a moment, before continuing her journey. She was getting better on walking, but she still limped slightly, and her abdomen hurt greatly. But she wouldn't give up. Looking at the hard, cold soil, she breathed in deeply, trying to get over the pain. She could do this. He wounds hurt badly, and she'd almost went into stasis lock once, but she had enough strength to finish Arachnid off. The Spider 'Con wouldn't avoid her certain death this time. She'd been so close when Arachnid had first landed, had the advantage on her. But then Jack had come up, and that madness had started. She only thanked Primus that the Human was safe, and not placed in some sort of trophy case.

She heard the small patter of feet behind her, and looked over her shoulder only to sigh. The three Humans followed behind her, Jack looking very worried, Raf very nervous and jittery, and Miko had seemed to get her energy back, smiling with an enthusiastic and determined looked in her eye. Jack puffed out his chest slightly. "Arcee, we're either coming with you, or you're not going anywhere." He said. Arcee cocked her head to the side slightly, but smiled. They were a determined young bunch of Humans. She liked that about them. Rolling her optics slightly, she barely even gave them a slight nod before moving on. Though she regretted as she began to walk with the others behind her.

"Where do you think she's going?" Miko whispered.

"Where do you think? To fight Arachnid!" Jack hissed.

"I just hope no one gets too hurt..." Raf said very quietly.

"Are you kidding me? I want to see an Arcee vs. Arachnid smack down!" Arcee could see through the corner of her optic, she saw Miko kick the air, jabbing her fists into something invisible.

"I'm with Raf, but only slightly. I seriously want to see that 'Con dead. My mom still freaks out whenever she sees a spider these days." Jack whispered back. Arcee smiled at that. Yes, June now had a very bad phobia of spiders, no matter how small. When she was on Base with the rest of the children, she had been talking to Optimus when she looked at a wall near them, and started screaming bloody murder. The Autobots had tried to find the source of her fear, and suddenly, Miko had become as frightened as June. They had no idea until Miko had jumped up, screaming wildly, her pigtails going straight up as well, and screamed,

"_SPIDER!_"

Miko had somehow managed to jump into Junes arms, and both of them made a run for it. Bulkhead had barely managed to stop them when they ran out of Base. They actually made it at least 2 miles away from the Base when Bulkhead had found them, and they had been sweaty, and full of dust. Arcee shook off the funny memory when Miko gasped. Getting out her weapons, she let one arm transform into a blaster, the other she let an arm blade slide out. Looking around warily, she saw what Miko had gasped at.

Arachnid lay on the ground, twitching slightly. Energon was slightly spilling out of a large dented slash on her head, and it appeared as though someone, or something, had ripped out one of her thin spider legs. Arcee wanted to know who had done this, to give them a big pat on the back. Maybe even a hug, she didn't know. To see the Spider 'Con in such a condition gave her a sick, cold happiness. A happiness that surprisingly made her feel all warm and tingly inside. The three Humans starred at the body of the poacher with shock, and Arcee ambled towards her fallen enemies body, smirking. "I guess this is the end of the line Arachnid." She let her arch nemesis' name slide out from her lips like venom, and aimed her blaster for the 'Cons head. "Hope you enjoy the Pit."

Arcee had just begun to heat up her blaster when something large, green, and extremely clumsy clomp towards them. _Bulkhead..._She mentally snarled, and took her eyes off Arachnid to watch the burly mech stop in front of her, horror in his optics. "What is it Bulkhead?'' Arcee growled. "Can't you see I'm a little busy here?" She jerked her head to a still unconscious Arachnid.

Bulkhead looked at her for a second, then at the children behind her, then laid his optics back on the femme. "You know who did this, right?" Arcee shook her head. "Ratchet." Everyone was silent. Raf looked at Jack, Jack looked to Miko, Miko looked to Bulkhead, Bulkhead looked at Arcee, and Arcee was shifting her gaze between Arachnid and Bulkhead.

"Guess I should go thank the old 'Doc." She snorted, and looked around. "Where is he anyway?" She questioned curiously.

The horror in Bulkheads optics seemed to deepen. "That's the thing. Right now, he's passed out on the ground." Arcee looked at him with shock. "Yeah, I know. Bee's takin' care of him right now. But, something else happened..." Bulkhead looked away. "When me, Bee, and Optimus got her, big old Spider Lady over there was knocked out. Ratchet started acting all weird, and we were only trying to calm him down when he tried whacking Bee with his blades." Arcee starred as Bulkhead in bewilderment as he went on. This did not sound like Ratchet. Sure, he would give them a few good dents now and then, and a few threats about turning them into toaster ovens now and then, but he never actually pulled out his weapons on them. He barely even used them, being inside of Base most of the time.

Arcee looked at him, and something dawned on her. The only other time that Ratchet had been aggressive was when he had been on the synthetic energon, which she highly doubted he could have possibly had, and when Knock Out had had Sophie in his clutches. So she put two and two together. Ratchet, + Arachnid = Sophie. Arachnid must have done something to Sophie, which made Ratchet angry, and pound her down into scrap metal. Wait. Arachnid, had done something to Sophie. Arachnid, + Sophie = Something very, very bad happened. "What did she do?" Arcee snapped, glaring at Arachnid. She would blow the evil femmes head off when Bulkhead had told her the details. If it was bad, the Arachnid deserved a longer, more painful death. But if it was not as bad as she thought, then she would make it a little less painful that what she was plotting currently.

"I'm not sure." Bulkhead said with a slight shrug. "But she did a number on Ratchet. I say the femmes handy work on his arm." He glanced at her claws, which were still dripping with acid. "From what I saw, Arachnid here didn't use the acid, only her claws." He said, shaking his head slightly. "I never thought that spilled blood could be worse than spilled energon..." He muttered silently. Human blood was so warm, and sticky. Energon was cool, and much less dense than what Humans had inside of them.

That was the only thing Arcee needed to hear. Letting her servo transform back, she balled it into a tight fist, and punched Arachnid in the gut, letting her blade slide out slightly from beneath her arm plating. Arachnid's optics opened wide, and she let out a wheeze, energon sputtering out of the side of her mouth. She looked around, but stopped as she laid her venomous purple optics onto Arcee. A smile creeped onto her metallic lips at the blue femmes rage. "Ah, Arcee. How nice it is to see you again." She hissed. Optics searching, she stopped to place them onto Jack. "Tell me Jack, how is your creator? Still afraid of her own shadow?" Arachnid barely had time to chuckle at the boys rage and shock before Arcee sliced another one of the Spider 'Cons small thin legs off the top of her back. She growled in pain, and looked at Arcee with anger.

Arcee brought a blade to her throat, and brought her eyes close to Arachnids, a fiery hate in them. "What did you do to her?" Arcee growled. Arachnid starred at her blankly, before smiling darkly.

"Oh, you mean the Human sparkling? I'm simply teaching Humanity a lesson Arcee, a lesson that one won't soon forget." She said, amusement in her tone. "The Decepticons shall rule this planet, and even before Megatron gets a hold of this world, the Human race will go extinct. I intend to do what I do best. You know, my little hobby." Arcee snarled, but Arachnid just ignored her. "Jack, I thought your head would look perfect in my ship. I even made you your own very shelf. Somewhere you could, 'hang your head'." Jack looked at her, standing strong. But on the inside, all of his Human instincts told him to get the heck out of there and run away from the creepy 'Con. "But I guess I'll just have to settle for the rest of Humanity."

Arcee had had enough of talk out of Arachnid it seemed. She put the blade dangerously close to Arachnids neck, letting it slice the delicate metal skin a bit. "Tell me," Arcee said in an extremely cold voice. "What did you do?" Arachnid simply looked at Arcee with a smug smile. Arcee vented out hot air, and smashed her fist into Arachnids face.

"Tell me!"

**XXX**

Optimus skidded to a stop in front of the Oakville Hospital, waiting desperately for June to show. The Human woman had contacted him several times that she was 10 minutes away, then 5 minutes away, then 2 minutes away. He wished she was 1 second away by now. His silent pleas were answered when Junes car rode up next to him, and it's engine ceased to rumble as she took out the keys, and rapidly got out of the car. Rushing towards him, she flung open the door to his cab, and gasped slightly at the sight of the young girl inside. Sophie only gave June a weak smile. "Hi Jackies mom." She said, voice raspy.

June gently pulled her out of Optimus, cradling her. She didn't bother with the blood staining her shirt. She was a nurse, she had to deal with these kinds of things all the time. Bolting into the Hospital, she burst through the doors, eyes desperate. "I need a Doctor!" She cried. The attendant looked at her with shock, and saw the barely conscious toddler in her arms. Literally jumping out from behind her desk, she ran towards June, looking over Sophie with deep concern and worry. Looking to a man in a nurses uniform, she pointed towards the hallway.

"Get Doctor Warren!" The woman cried. The Man-Nurse guy nodded, and hurried away to find the doctor she had requested. In a split second, a man in a white coat, with slicked back brown hair and glasses came out with the Nurse-Man guy, with several other doctors at his side. The Nurse-Man guy took Sophie out of Junes arms, rushing down the corner and into a different hallway, Doctor Warren, and several other doctors trailing behind him. Leaving a very shocked June, blood covering the front of her shirt, and small puddles on the floor, behind her, and leaving a trail of where they had taken Sophie.

She could hear them shouting, calling for more medical supplies. But she seemed to go deaf as she looked back at Optimus, eyes wide with fear. The blue and red truck sat there silently, but sending off its own sense of distress and fearfulness. What had happened? She'd never seen any of the other children in such a horrible condition, only a few cuts and bruises most of the time. But injuries were like paper cuts compared to Sophies wounds. But a word popped up in her mind, and stuck onto her brain. Decepticons. They had attacked them, had gotten them off guard and engaged them. But why? Why were they there? What had they come for? Who had done such a horrible thing to Sophie? And how? How exactly had they gotten past Ratchet, who was practically a living shield to the four year old.

Optimus sat there, engine rumbling gently. June looked at him for a second more, and turned her head, running off to find where they had taken Sophie. Following the trail of small pools of the crimson liquid, she tracked them down to a door, shouts and people running in and out, equipment in their hands as they came back into the room. Poking her head in, her eyes curved down in sadness. Sophie struggled against the grip of the doctors with what little energy she had left, screaming and crying as they tried to stitch her up, and bandage her wounds. "Watchet! Watchet, I need him!" She cried, tears flying as she jerked her head away from the doctors.

She was scared, and didn't want to be here at all. The table was cold, and the doctors hands were even colder. They crowded around her, shouting at one another, strange and frighteningly sharp tools in their hands. She felt like a frog students would dissect in science class, strapping them down and getting out knives so they could cut them open and search around in their guts. The room was far too bright for her eyes, and it hurt to move. And all the while, she could feel Ratchet. It seemed that he had awakened some way, and was panicking. She could hear him calling her name through the bond, and she tried to respond, but it was just so hard. Why had Jacks mother brought her here? It wasn't a nice place, and smelled funny and was full of alien-looking people wearing masks.

June saw Sophies distress, and pushed through the crowd of doctors, coming into the front. Looking at Sophie, the girl locked eyes with her. Sophies emerald eyes were large, pupils small, and full of agonizing fear. June took Sophies hand gently, trying to block out the doctors shouts. "Sophie, Sophie sweetie. Calm down, it's alright." June said softly. Sophie looked at her, a bit calmer than she had been a second ago. "These guys are just trying to help you, alright? They just want to make you feel better. That's all they're trying to do." She reassured. Sophie looked at her, stopping her frantic sobs and cries.

"But, it hurts..."

"They're just trying to make the hurt go away. If you want, they can give you some medicine so you can sleep while they make you all better again." June noticed it had gotten oddly silent in the room, and suddenly felt the others burning stares. Sophie looked at her nervously, but slowly, she nodded in agreement. June looked back at Doctor Warren, who knowingly nodded, and headed out of the room to get some sedative. He came back rather quickly, and handed the needle to June carefully. "Now, this is only going to hurt a little bit, alright?" Sophie looked at the needle with fear, but since she knew that June was handling it, closed her eyes and turned her head the other way. June quickly, but gently, poked the needle into her arm, letting the substance into Sophie's system.

Sophie looked at the wall, and she suddenly felt limp. And for some reason, she was now staring at the ceiling. Weird. But her brain felt like mush, like someone had put it in a microwave and let it melt down into a big blob of pink. It felt like a dark, hazy cloud had suddenly covered it. Before she could recognize the doctors touch, her world suddenly came engulfed by darkness, and she dove deep down into her sub consciousness.


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay guys, I would just like to ask you guys to check out the poll on my profile. I need help from you public peoples to figure out which Transformers character to bring in. I NEED HELP. I can't make all these decisions on my own! ****So please just check it out, and vote on which one you want to be in here :)**

**And on a more serious note, you may have noticed I bumped up the rating with the advice of ratchetsfangirl. Things may getting better for Sophie and Ratchet, things may get worse, I'm just goin' with the flow guys. I'm just goin' with the flow...**

* * *

><p><em>"Are you guys sure she's okay?"<em>

_"I'm sure. That doctor said it isn't as bad as it looks."_

_"Well, it sure looks bad."_

_"Miko, don't be mean!"_

_"I'm just saying.."_

Sophie groggily opened her eyes, and everything was blurry. Blinking a few times, her vision cleared, and she gave a low moan. She saw Jack look over to her, a small smile on his lips. Tapping Miko's arm, he pointed to her. "Hey, look. She's waking up." He said quietly. Sophie barely looked at him, and looked down at herself. She was in a comfy hospital bed, a blanket covering her body from the hip down. She didn't take a lot of the bed space, her feet barely touched the end of the bed. She had stitches in her arm, and a by touching her forehead gently she found a bandage wrapped around it. But what surprised her most was the large cast placed over her leg. It was big and white, but what made her smile was the doodles on it. Miko's name was on there, with a mini Godzilla destroying a city next to it. Jacks name was written quite neatly, and but it was actually pretty big, and was on right next to Miko's Godzilla. Raf's was small, in cursive, and even neater than Jacks. But he had drawn a computer next to his, with a little mail sign on it, and a letter that said, "Get well!"

Sophie looked up at them with a warm smile. "Hi guys!" She said, and tried to wave. But she recoiled her arm as it stung badly. June hurried over to her, checking her over.

"Just take it easy Sophie, don't move a lot." June directed. Smiling, she patted Sophies arm gently. "You gave us all quite a scare Sophie. Ratchet almost tore the whole Base apart trying to find out where you went, and how you were. Then he almost tore the whole Hospital apart when he found out you were here." June walked over to the window, opening it so the breeze could flow in. "But he calmed down after a while. Actually, he's out there right now." June pointed out the window, and Sophie craned her head to see. She smiled broadly as she saw Ratchet sitting there quietly, Optimus on his flank as though the make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Arcee waited on the side of the Hospital, and Bulkhead was patrolling the perimeter of the place. Did they actually think the Decepticons would attack a Hospital?

Sophie waved at Ratchet, careful not to hurt herself again. Ratchet seemed to notice this, and blinked his headlights at her. Optimus did the same, but Arcee didn't. She didn't seem to be doing really anything right now, a strange thing for the blue femme. But by the way her headlights were not on, Sophie guessed she was probably asleep. Slumping back down onto the soft pillows, Sophie looked around at her room. It was different from the room she remembered being in. That room had been cold, and had no windows. This room was surprisingly warm, and full of light and the twittering of the birds singing in the morning. "How long have I been out?" She questioned curiously.

Miko looked at her with a very serious look. "How long have you been out? You've been passed out for years Sophie!" Miko cried dramatically. Sophie gasped in shock, falling for Miko's tease easily.

Jack snarled at Miko, slapping her arm. "Miko!" Jack hissed.

Miko stuck out her tongue at the older boy, and looked back at Sophie laughing. "It was only a joke you know. Geez, little kids are so gullible." She said, walking over to the door. Taking the doorknob in her hand, she looked at back them. "I'm going to the cafeteria. I saw some guy coming back with pudding." She walked out the door halfway, and smiled a large goofy smile as she left. "Toddles!" She wiggled her fingers, and closed the door behind her. Jack rolled his eyes, walking towards the corner of the Hospital room. Raf looked at Jack for a moment, and fixed his glasses to bring them up closer to the bridge of his nose.

He walked up to Sophie, and brought out his laptop from under his arm, placing it on a tray next to Sophie. Opening the device, he tapped a few keys, and the screen lit up. He fixed his glasses once more, and propped the computer a certain way so they could both see the screen. "So, I know your birthday's coming up soon Sophie, and-"

"How do you know when her birthday is?" Jack questioned curiously.

Raf looked at him, and blushed slightly. "Uh..I kinda wanted to get a head start on what to get her...and hacked into the polices main computer files to get her personal profile..." He said timidly. Jack looked at him with wide eyes, and June looked between Jack and Raf. But Jack shook off his surprise, and shook his head, amusement on his features. He wasn't too surprised that Raf had managed to hack into the police department. The kid had hacked into super secret government files, on several different occasions. There seemed like there was no computer in the world that was safe from Rafs mighty hacking powers. Raf looked back to Sophie again, who was looking at the screen in wonder. "Anyway, I know your birthdays coming up, and I wanted to get you something." Raf said with a sincere smile.

Sophie looked at him, then at the screen. Different things came up, all that made her eyes widen in interest. There was Barbie dolls, doll houses, a large stuffed brown bear, and everything a little girl could ever dream of having. Could Raf buy all this stuff? Raf did have enough money to buy most of the things at the same time, most of his money from chores, or special occasions. He still had most of the money he got for his 9th birthday! Raf shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I didn't know what you would want, so I kinda just saved some pictures of stuff on my computer to see what you would like." He explained. "I got a little help from my sister on choosing which stuff a girl your age would like, so I narrowed it down to what seemed most cool." Raf tapped one of the computer keys, and 10 pictures showed up on the screen, neatly set in two rows of five.

One was the giant stuffed bear, the second was one of those mini pink cars that you could drive in, the third was a complete set of Barbie's, including Ken and a mansion sized doll house. The fourth was a plush My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic version of Rainbowdash, the fifth was a small kitchen set, full of little play plastic foods. The sixth was one of those mechanical dogs that barked and moved, the seventh was a collection of the Strawberry Shortcake movies and series. The eighth was a pink bike, with, of course, training wheels, the ninth was a Disney Princess costume, and the tenth was a water proof, unbreakable pink camera. Raf had chosen that one because one of his little brothers got a camera for his 6th birthday, and by the end of the day it was in the garbage. Raf was still finding bits of the tape around the house.

Out of the many choices, Sophie knew exactly what she wanted to moment she laid eyes on it. "That one!" She said, and pointed at the screen. Raf looked to which one, and found that her index finger was in the direction of the mini pink car. Raf smiled, and closed his computer.

"Okay, that one it is." He said.

Outside, Ratchet had been eavesdropping on the conversation. He wondered why Raf was showing her so many things that he could get her. But he was confused on one thing the most. What was a, so called, 'Birthday'? It must have been something important, since Raf was getting her something that looked quite expensive. But what exactly was a birthday? Quickly, he Google searched the word 'birthday', and found something that intrigued him. A birthday appeared to be a celebration on the day when a Human was born, a day when they got a year older. _Strange._ Ratchet thought. Cybertronians didn't celebrate 'birthdays', since it took almost a thousand years for them to age. And he would hate to wait that long for a present. Now that ratchet thought about it, he barely even remembered when he was born. _I'm probably older than Earth itself._ Ratchet mused. He was the oldest one on Team Prime, and he knew for sure that he would probably be the oldest one in the Decepticon group.

Optimus seemed to notice Ratchets strange silence, and rumbled his engine quietly. "Ratchet, is everything alright?" Optimus questioned, voice filled with concern. The medic had been very quiet since they had arrived at the Hospital. The medic had simply sat there, and had not even gotten any recharge during the night. But, Optimus had his concerned placed for Arcee as well. They had managed to get Ratchet back to Base to repair Arcee after some time of convincing him that Sophie was in good hands, and that once Arcee was all fixed up that they could go visit her. But the two-wheeler had not been quite herself, and Optimus could easily guess why. Arachnid had once again gotten away from the brink of death, and during her escape, had given Arcee yet another acidy scar.

Ratchet simply sank in his tires a little, sighing. "I'm getting old..." He mumbled. Optimus mentally smiled, and chuckled. "I'm serious Optimus. I'm probably older than the Earth at this age..." The medic sank even lower in his tires. "I can barely keep up with any of you anymore. The only time I barely could was when I was on synthetic energon, and then I went crazy." Ratchet said with a very heavy sigh. "I feel like one of those Human elders who sit on their porches, and yell at the kids in their yard..."

Optimus simply chuckled at Ratchet once more, nudging his side gently. "Ratchet, you are not that old. I am probably as old as Earth as well. You may not be as, 'on edge' as you used to be, but you are still quite sharp." Ratchet simply grumbled under his breath. "Do not forget that you helped me fight off a legion of undead Decepticons, and fought off Arachnid on your own." Optimus reminded him. "Not even Arcee had come so close to offlining the femme, and yet you did so in mere minutes. Do not call yourself old just because you cannot do as many things as you could when you were younger. It is natural, and happens to all of us. Besides, with old age comes wisdom, and patience. Things that most people do not have."

"I may be old, but I have no patience what so ever." Ratchet said, revving his engines quietly in frustration. "I wish that those so called Human 'doctors', could fix Sophie up quicker. I need to see her soon. I didn't get a chance to check her over before I went into stasis. Primus, I barely even knew what her wounds her when I was holding her." Ratchet said, looking up to her window. He wanted desperately to scan her again, to see if there was anything that the doctors had missed, or didn't do. After what had happened, all he really wanted to do was hold her, without her very blood staining his armor. Right when he came into Base he had noticed the blood, and panicked trying to get it off. He had dealt with energon before, gotten on his hands, his chest, his arms, even his feet once, and hadn't even flinched. He was a doctor, and knew it was strange and idiotic of him to freak out over the slightest drip of blood.

But that wasn't the point. The point was he wanted to see Sophie, and he would make sure he did so soon. Or that Hospital would end up like Josephs wreck of an orphanage. "Ratchet," The CMO brought his attention back to Optimus. "If you are thinking what I think you are thinking, you better stop thinking it." Optimus said sternly. Ratchet simply gave a dry chuckle, and looked back up at Sophies window to see what was going on inside of there. Jack was saying something to Raf, June was talking to Sophie, and Miko entered the room with...what was that in her hand? It was brown, and strange looking. Wait, he'd seen something like it before, it was in a book June had given to him about the Human body! Ratchet made a gagging noise as he remembered what he had read about that. It was disgusting, and vile, and came out of Humans...

And Miko was _eating_ it?

Well, she seemed to be enjoying herself, and the others didn't seem to mind at all. She made faces of delight as she brought the disgusting substance into her mouth with a spoon. So it came out of Humans, and they ate it? There was nothing on that process in the book June had given him. Maybe it was outdated...but never the less, he still couldn't get over the fact that Miko was actually eating it. Though when she started offering some of the unmentionable stuff on her spoon to Sophie, Ratchet felt about to purge. She was suggesting Sophie eat it? And with the same spoon she had put in her mouth? Ratchet wasn't much of a neat freak, but he couldn't stand when someone sneezed or coughed, and didn't cover it up with their hand. And he could actually _see _all the germs on that spoon with his scanners. So many germs...So...So many germs...

He felt a giant wave of relief wash over him as Sophie declined, though she looked longingly at it. Ratchet moved forward a bit, then back, then forward, then back again. He went back and forth, rolling on his tires. He wanted to patrol around the area with Bulkhead very badly, to go out and stretch his legs. He'd been stuck in his alt-mode since 12 a.m., and it was currently 3 p.m. He longed for it, but set it aside. He would not let Sophie leave his sight, not now. So many bad things had happened to her, so many things he had not prevented. Sure, Miko, Jack, and Raf were in constant danger as well, but nothing as severe as them being put in the Hospital had ever happened before. Well, one time Jack had broken his arm, but that was because He had jumped out of the groundbridge, and had accidently jumped out of a rock. But besides that, nothing like this had ever happened.

But, Ratchet was thankful that Knock Out had not attacked Sophie. Otherwise, he would have had energon as well as blood on his hide. He was already planning what he might do to the red mech if he ever laid his rusty claws back onto Sophie again. He could easily cut out his spark with his blades, at least once he got him pinned down. He could cut off his head, burn his 'precious' paintjob, and then rip out his spark. Or maybe the other way around, just to mix it up. But Ratchet wanted to let Knock Out see what Ratchet was doing to him, let him be alive so he could feel the pain that Ratchet felt when he had seen him killing sparklings. But he wouldn't leave Arachnid out of the fun. She had put Sophie in the hospital, and that would not go unpunished. He would let Arcee finish her off, just to be fair to the blue femme.

_Wait..._Ratchet though for a small moment. _How did I get from birthdays to killing Knock Out? _It was strange how the mind worked. Very strange indeed. Ratchet watched as Bulkhead passed them for about the millionth time yet, but the large, burly green suddenly stopped in his tracks. Ratchet looked at Bulkhead for a second, and stiffened at the wreckers stiffness. "What is it Bulkhead?" Ratchet called out, worry lacing his voice. Bulkhead moved on his tires a small bit, facing Ratchet. He remained silent, tenseness in his form.

"Fowler's coming."

Optimus rumbling engine ceased, creating complete and utter silence. Arcee's headlights suddenly went on at the small statement, but she remained as still and as stiff as the others. Fowler was coming? That was bad, very bad, _extremely _bad. Had Fowler found out about the accident? Surely this time he would attempt yet again to take her away. And Ratchet would not let him take her away, not now, not ever. He would squish the man if he tried to do it once more, and wouldn't care what Prime said.

But as soon as Ratchet saw Fowlers sleek black car driving up to them, all of his courage and fiery fury froze over, turning into cold fear and longing to transform, snatch Sophie from her room, and drive off. But he remained still, stiff, and silent as Fowler got out of his car. Ratchet waited for the infuriated expression, the angry screams of how he couldn't cover them up anymore. But it did not come. No angry face. No crazy rant. Nothing. Instead, it was the most shocking scene any of the Autobots had ever seen. Fowler had a sincere look upon his face, a worried look. And in his hand was 'get well' balloons, a box of small chocolates, and a card. "I heard about what happened to the kid." The dark man said. "Just wanted to...see how she was." He shuffled on his feet. "So...should I go in or...?"

Optimus purred his engine softly, showing his pleasure of seeing the man without being yelled at. "Special Agent Fowler, it is alright to go in and see Sophie. She is awake from my knowledge, but it recovering." Fowler nodded towards the red and blue truck, and gave an awkward walk towards the Hospital doors. Optimus turned to Ratchet slightly as he went out of sight. "I would have never suspected him to be here, of all people." His leader said, honesty in his voice. Ratchet simply grunted in agreement. Although Ratchet wasn't very happy about Fowlers arrival, but he didn't resent it too much. Fowler had brought gifts with him, and if he was willing to spend such money on things fro Sophie, Ratchet would allow him to see her. For now.

**XXX**

"So, how does it feel to have a cast on your leg?" Miko asked, elbow against Sophies small food tray. The teenage girl had been bombarding Sophie with questions of how her leg felt, how being in a Hospital bed felt, if it was comfy, did it feel weird being all banged up like she was, and so many more Sophie barely remembered them all. Sophie shrugged, and looked at her cast. Miko had doodled on it further, adding Optimus and Bulkhead. And by request by a certain someone, she had drawn up Ratchet as well, though his arms were crossed and he looked very uninterested in everything around him, even the little Tokyo city being invaded by more Godzilla's, plus their mini baby Godzilla's.

"It kinda feels weird." Sophie said, poking at her cast. She felt a twinge of pain, but it wasn't much. Miko looked at the cast, and then poked it lightly. Sophie looked at Miko, and poked her arm. Miko poked back, a little harder than Sophie had. Sophie looked at Miko, brows furrowed slightly, a poked her very hard. And with that hard poke, started a poking war. Miko used all of her fingers to poke Sophies arm, and Sophie was using probably her entire hand to poke Miko back. Jack rolled his eyes at the two, who's arms were becoming red.

Pushing the two apart, he looked between the clashing pokers. "Okay you two, that's enough." Jack said, acting like the responsible parent of the room. Well, actually he was the oldest in the room. June had gone away because her shift at the Hospital had started, and she had already taken enough sick days after the whole, "My-sons-friends-with-giant-robot-aliens-who-are-at-war" epidemic. So it was just Jack, Raf, Miko, Sophie, and the ten thousand empty pudding cups. Jack walked over to the window, checking on the Autobots. He had been doing so since June had left them, seeing if Arcee was okay, and if anyone was poking around at them. He looked up to the sky, eyes narrowing. He'd been checking the Autobots along with the sky above, looking out for any strange looking aerial vehicles, along with any jets.

Looking back down, he saw Arcee blink her headlights as him, rolling back and forth. Arcee suddenly turned on the holoform for her alt mode, and spun around in a large circle frantically. Jack cocked his head to the side at this odd behavior, and looked to the others. Optimus only faintly blinked his headlights at Jack, much calmer than Arcee. Unlike the others, Arcee didn't trust Fowler, not one bit. He was probably going to yell at Jack since he couldn't yell at them while out in the open, and that whole, "I heard what happened", was just his cover so he could enter the Hospital. If he hadn't, Ratchet would probably placed right in front of the Hospital doors, engine roaring and horn honking. And she was right. Ratchet was with Arcee on this one for once, but he wasn't spinning around like a maniac like she was. He was only sitting quietly, though everyone around could sense his tenseness, and blinking his headlights frantically.

Jack heard the door open, and spun around, realizing what Arcee had been warning him about. Fowler was here...with balloons? The usually very stressed man had a sort of happy look on his face, with also a worried one. In one hand balloons, the other a box of chocolates and a card. "Uh...Agent Fowler..." Jack rubbed the back of his head, Miko and Raf staring at Fowler as if he had just grown two heads. "Um...hey." Jack gave a small wave. "What, uh...what are you doing here?" He questioned, backing away from the window.

Fowler looked at Jack as awkwardly as the teenager looked at him. "I just came to see how Sophie was, and, well, came with this stuff as well." Fowler gestured towards the things in his hands. Miko and Raf looked at Fowler suspiciously through narrowed eyes, letting them flick to eachother. Jack felt his muscles tense slightly as Fowler stepped into the room, walking over to a rather enthusiastic Sophie. She wasn't as suspicious or tense, but rather happy to see Fowler. She was happy, because he was happy. She didn't like it when people yelled or were angry all the time, she just wanted to see people happy. With a small smile, Fowler came towards her bedside, and gently tied down the balloons down on the side of the bed. He placed the box of chocolates on Sophies lap, and shuffled on his feet. "I...just came by to see how you were."

Before he could realize what was going on, Sophie flung her arms around his neck in a hug. "Thank you Fowler!" She said excitedly, and opened the box of chocolates, plopping one of the delicious little brown treats in her mouth. It was so rich, and filled with white chocolate. She smiled at him, though kept her mouth shut not to gross him out with the half chewed truffle in her mouth. Fowler smiled, and shook his head. He placed the card on a small table, and headed towards the door. Sophie gulped down the remainder of the chocolate, looking at him with a confused gaze. "Where ya' goin' Fowler?" She questioned, straightening up on her propped pillows.

Fowler looked back at her, eyes wide. "Sorry, I can't stay. Got to get back to my job, making sure those 'Cons aren't showing in any populated areas." He said with an annoyed sigh as he left through the door. Sophie looked to the others, who simply shrugged. No one really knew where he worked, more so lived. Actually, they really didn't know anything about him. Miko had once asked him what his favorite color was, but he simply grunted in response. The man was a mystery. An angry, ranting, bossy mystery...

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, and to Awwwwww. Ratchet and Sophie, you're not annoying me, no matter how many grammar mistakes you make :) I love my reviewers, and people who read my story, and if I could see all of you guys in person, I'd probably smother you with hugs XD <strong>

**And I would like to have yet another moment of silence for a fallen friend...Breakdown. I was one of the many fangirls who's hearts were broken when Breakdown died :*( It really didn't matter if he was a Decepticon, he was still very awsome. I'm sure Knock Out is as devastated about it as the rest of us...*sniffle*...**

**(DOM WAS HERE!)**

**I'm sorry...that was my friend...she told me to keep that there :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Okay,** the votes are in of which TF character should be in Learning to Love. After a long moment of panicking and deciding, I decided on something. Since the votes for Ironhide and Prowl are the same, (Unless that somehow changes...) I'm just bringing in both. I don't want the whole, **

**Random Person: But I wanted Ironhide!**

**Other Random Person: No! Prowls way better!**

**Me: Alright, just settle down guys, no need to-**

**Random Person: NO! IRONHIDE COULD BLAST AWAY PROWL IN A SECOND!**

**Other Random Person: OH IT'S ON!**

**...And I think you can guess where that will lead to. And I don't want any of that in here. Okay? On with the chapter...**

* * *

><p>"Sophie, stop this foolishness and-"<p>

"No!"

"It's good for you-!"

"No!"

"I swear, if you don't eat this right now, I'm going to stuff it down your throat!" Ratchet growled, clearly frustrated. Sophie had come back to Base, wounds patched up, leg still in a cast, and a little crutch placed under her arm. Currently, her healing leg was propped up in a stool with a pillow, her crutch leaning against the leg of a foldable table, arms crossed over her small chest, and face pulled down into a pouting frown. Ratchet snarled at her, though she didn't feel the least threatened by him, a small silver spoon pinched between his fingers which was close to snapping in two, leaning against the railing of the metal platform. On the small, being bent in the process silver spoon, was a pile of green mush that Sophie and dubbed as "birdie poop". The so called "birdie poop", was actually spinach. Though it actually did in a way look like a bird splattered it's droppings on a window of a car, Ratchet knew it was good for her, and no matter how it looked so much like bird stool, he would force her to eat it. Even if it meant fulfilling his threat.

To Ratchet, it was a nutrient piece of leafy food made by the Earth itself, that strengthened Humans, and kept them healthy and slim, unlike the so called 'food' at McDonalds, which had gallons of grease, and made Humans extremely unhealthy and very fat. But, spinach was a good for her, and he wanted the best for Sophie. But to Sophie, the spinach looked like a clump of poop, disgusting, ugly, and something that would probably taste very bad. it looked like the goop that witches used to mix into their pots of brew. And usually that brew was used to kill princess'. Sophie was no princess, although she wished she was, but she wasn't to sure the witches would hesitate to kill her off too, along with whichever princess they planned to assassinate. But with all those facts put together, Sophie was 100% never, ever, _ever_, going to eat whatever that was dripping off the spoon. "No you won't!" Sophie said, putting her head up defiantly towards the vile substance.

Ratchet leaned in closer, optics narrowing. "Don't test me youngling." He snapped. He always tried to control his temper around her, but it was boiling up to the breaking point. Sophie looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes, and scooted her chair back. Ratchet rolled his optics, and used his servo to make her come back towards him, even closer then she had been before. "Eat it." He grunted, bringing the spoon close to her mouth. Sophie looked at the mush with defiance and disgust. "Put it in your mouth." Ratchets stern voice washed away the defiance, but not the disgust. With great hesitation, Sophie put the spoon between her lips, and gave Ratchet a pleading look. Being a medic, Ratchet simply gave her a cold stare. "Off the spoon." He directed. Sophie pulled back, the vile mush in her mouth instead of the spoon. Her cheeks her filled with it, causing her to look like a chipmunk with it's cheeks filled to the brim with nuts. "Swallow it." Sophie gave a small gulp, but her cheeks were still very large. "All of it." With that, the green vile slid down her throat.

Sophie looked up at Ratchet with an angry pout. "I still don't like it." She scowled. Ratchet simply grunted in response, and carefully helped Sophie get the crutch under her arm, helping her out of the chair. Carefully, his servo guided her towards the couch, and Sophie settled her broken leg down on a pillow that had been propped up prior to when she had been eating. Ratchet, though still a bit aggravated that Sophie would still refuse to eat vegetables, watched over her with concerned, yet kind optics as Sophie as she grabbed a piece of paper and a box of crayons, and began to color away. Ratchet had been all over Sophie when she had returned to Base from the Hospital, which had taken longer then expected. The doctors, and a few police men had been quite concerned and confused about Sophie's wounds. The doctors could tell be the wounds it had been no accident. The slashes and gashes had been precise and straight on, and no accident could give such deadly blows like that. Fowler had to try to convince them that she had fallen down some stairs.

They were nowhere near convinced with that answer. So Fowler had then tried to convince them that she had fallen down a few flights of stairs. Still, they were not convinced. But when Fowler had taken them on a little, 'trip', to somewhere the Autobots didn't even know about, they had come back almost half dazed and willing to believe anything that Fowler told them. Miko had even managed to convince the now somewhat mindless people that she was the warrior queen of the world, and before she had left the Hospital had managed to get them to kiss her boots and grovel at her feet. Ratchet had to admit, it was very funny to see that happen. Jack had asked what had happened to them, and when they'd, you know, turn back to normal. Fowler didn't tell them what they had done to them, just that they would stop being gullible, mindless zombies in a few days. Ratchet was suspicious of what had happened to them, but didn't question Fowler. If Ratchet could, he'd be zapping people with whatever he used all day long.

But when Sophie had come back to Base, Ratchet had been like a mother hen, hovering over her, helping her with everything, making sure her pillow for her cast was adjusted properly, making sure the doctors hadn't missed anything, to see if a wounds had gotten infected, everything. Every little detail counted to him, no matter how much he pestered her. His constant pestering was out of love, and that was all that counted. Ratchet let his optics flick off Sophie for a second to see Arcee in the corner, watching him with a confused expression. After all the events prior, they still did not truly understand what he an Sophie had. It wasn't just they were close in a family manner, they were bonded. Emotionally and mentally. He could feel her, every breath she took, the small sound of her heartbeat echoing in the back of his helm. But he liked that small thump. It reminded him that she was safe and well, and in the servos of those who cared.

But none of them truly understood their bond. It was strange to them, foreign and unnatural. Cybertronians could only bond to other Cybertronians, that was that. But this went beyond that, had broken past the barrier that separated Human from Cybertronian. Ratchet looked over to Arcee with a small glare. "Are you going to stare at me all day?" Ratchet snapped. Arcee looked at him with a startled expression. "Shouldn't you be scouting with Bumblebee? Or patrolling with Bulkhead?" Ratchet questioned, letting his eyes flick between Sophie, who was too occupied by her doodling to acknowledge Arcee and Ratchets conversation, and Arcee, who was still standing in the corner.

The blue femme shrugged. "Bee went on a small scouting routine, though his coordinates say that he's by Raf's house." Ratchet gave a snort. "And that big green lug nut can handle a little patrolling on his own without getting into trouble. I hope." She said with a sigh, shaking her head with a small smile on her faceplates. "It's just so...weird to see you in parent mode." She said, looking Ratchet over for a second. "It was pretty scary though to see you go into kill mode with Knock Out. Never did get to tell you that, I was a little afraid to." Arcee chuckled, and Ratchet nodded. "But Ratchet, your getting so attached to her," Ratchet opened his mouth to speak. "And I know what you're going to say, "Your just as attached to Jack as I am to Sophie". But I really don't see that." She said, shaking her helm. "Optimus seems to know something about you that we don't, and by the way Bumblebee looks at you two, he seems to know too." Arcee crossed her arms over her chest. "So what are those two not telling me?"

Ratchet looked away, his body facing her. Looking over his shoulder at Sophie, the small child was still coloring away, oblivious to them. But just to be sure she didn't hear their conversation, Ratchet walked towards Arcee, brushing her into the hallway. He looked down at the blue femme, slight confusion passing in his optics. "Bumblebee knows?" She nodded with a suspicious look. Ratchet simply paced, finger pinching the bridge of his nose. "How could he know about it? Optimus certainly wouldn't tell him. But still, how could he know?" Ratchet was trying to figure out how the yellow scout knew. Could he have overheard his conversation with Sophie in his quarters after the fight with Fowler? No, Ratchet's scanners would have picked him up. So how was the question. Arcee cleared her throat, and Ratchet looked at her, stopping his pacing.

"What exactly are you talking about?" She questioned, looking him over. Ratchet sighed, and faced her.

"Sophie and I have a...'special connection with each other." Ratchet started, and Arcee raised an eyebrow at him. "You do remember how one can be bonded to another, right?" Arcee was hesitant, but nodded again. "Well, currently, Sophie and I are bonded." Silence. Absolute, utter silence. Arcee stared at him, optics wide, frame frozen in place. Ratchet scanned her, just to make sure her systems had not frozen up as well. Everything seemed alright with her, yet she stared at him, mouth opening a fraction. Ratchet knew that they would not react lightly to this revelation, but he did not think they would simply freeze up like this. Ratchet suddenly felt a bit awkward, and shuffled on his feet slightly.

Arcee regained herself suddenly, and her optics crossed angrily. "You have a _what_ with her?" Arcee cried, jabbing Ratchet in the chest with her finger. "Ratchet, that's crazy! Humans can't bond on to us! That's just...I, I don't even know what that is!" Arcee growled, stepping closer to Ratchet. The medic took a step back, only to hit into a wall. "Why hasn't anyone told me and Bulkhead? This is seriously important! What if Fowler finds out? He'll go into a big fat, raging rant!" Ratchet looked away again, knowing that was probably true. "And-!"

Before Arcee could finish, the alert alarm suddenly went off, beeping madly. Ratchet looked around, and flew past Arcee towards the monitor, tapping several buttons to reveal a blue blinking figure on the screen, which was coming very close towards Nevada, Jasper. Ratchet barely noticed Arcee come up beside him, and ignored Optimus' booming footsteps as he came out of the hallway and came by Ratchets other side. "What is happening Ratchet?" The Autobot leader asked, looking at the screen.

Ratchet didn't even look at Optimus. "Incoming Autobot ship." Ratchet stated. The blinking blue dot suddenly became faster, zipping madly around the screen. Ratchet looked at it in confusion, and pressed down a button. "Autobot carrier, what is your status?" Only the fizzle of static. "Autobot carrier, respond." Instead of fizzling of static, they got shouts and bits and pieces of an argument.

_"No! This is my ship!"_

"_But this is the right way to handle it!"_

_"Don't you dare touch the wheel!"_

Arcee looked to Optimus with a quirked eyebrow, and Optimus didn't seem to know what was going on in the ship either. Optimus cleared his throat. "Autobot carrier!" The shouting suddenly stopped at Optimus' baritone, booming voice. "What is your status Autobot carrier?" Optimus questioned in a very 'I'm-in-charge' voice. There was a moment of silence, a few mumbled whispers, and finally, someone spoke up.

_"Optimus, is that you?"_

Optimus' optics widened a fraction. "Ironhide?" He questioned in disbelief.

_"Yeah, it's me. Ow! And Prowl..." _Ironhide growled.

_"Optimus, it is an honor to be speaking to you." _Prowl said. _"I am sorry for the...small argument Ironhide and I had." _The Autobot strategist said, and they could hear Ironhide snort in the background. _"We found your message, and decided to track you-"_

_"And then this guy started to mess with my ship." _Ironhide snapped.

_"I was simply fixing it so it would be properly working, as you have not taken the slightest care of it."_

"_Maybe I should fix your aft! No one touches my ship except for me! Or Chromia! I care about my ship! She's just fine! She's perfect the way she is!"_

_"Ships have no gender." _Prowl stated.

_"THAT'S IT!" _

No words were spoken, but by the sounds of the grunts and thuds and constant crashes, Ironhide had started to attack Prowl. Ratchet rolled his optics, and suddenly noticed Sophie leaning against the rails, staring at the screen curiously. Arcee pointed to the screen, looking to Ratchet. "They're going to crash if they don't stop fighting!" She said. Ratchet already knew that, but really wasn't concerned. Ironhide had once been in building that had been bombed, and no remainders of it survived the blast. Just when they thought the old 'bot was dead and gone, he had come out, dusting off ashes from his hide. He had been blown up, shot at, paralyzed, captured, and yet, he always came out alive with only a scratch. Prowl wasn't as tough as Ironhide, but he could survive one crash landing.

The transmission suddenly ended as their ship crashed down on the Earth, but the blue blinking got on the screen did not fade or vanish, just stayed the same. There ship was fine. They would be fine as well, or at least he thought they would be. Ratchet looked over his shoulder to see Optimus already walking towards the not yet open groundbridge. Ratchet took hold of the handle, and pulled it down, activating the teleporting tunnel. Arcee followed behind him, but they did not leave just yet. "Ratchet, we may need medical assistance." Optimus said. Ratchet simply grunted in response, and began to walk forwards. He was stopped as something small clung onto his foot, and he looked down with a sigh.

Sophie looked up at him with large, pleading eyes. "Can I come?" Ratchet turned to his helm to shake his head. "Please?" She whimpered, lower lip sticking out. Ratchet looked away, but sighed in defeat, picking her up in his servo. Optimus simply nodded to Ratchet as he walked through the groudnbridge, Sophie in hand, and followed behind his medic. Ratchet came through the swirling tunnel, and looked down at Sophie, who looked up at him with bewilderment. "Is it supposed to feel like your vibrating?" She questioned, shaking her arm slightly. Ratchet didn't answer, simply looked forwards to see Ironhides ship. Part of it was on fire, the other part was what you would call 'intact'.

Arcee walked around the ship, and as the sound of movement sounded inside, she instinctively let one arm switch into a blaster, but kept it to the ground. In an instant, the hatch on the ship popped open, almost hitting Ratchet on the head as it flew a few feet away. Ironhide slowly came out, coughing up smoke. "Primus, that was a heck of a landing." He looked down, scowling. "Thanks a lot Prowl." Stepping out of hatch, he slide down the side of the ship, landing on the ground. Prowls upper body showed up, door wings down in aggravation.

"If you had not tried to fight me, then we would have not crashed." Prowl said in a semi-calm voice as he also slide down the ship, landing next to Ironhide. The weapons specialists simply snorted, and looked to Optimus with a lopsided grin. Prowl stepped in front of him, bowing the the Prime. "Optimus, it is a true honor." Prowl said, looking up to Optimus as he ended his bow. He brought out his hand, and Optimus shook it.

"The honor is all mine." Optimus said politely. Looking over to Ironhide, the black mech looked at the ground with slight disgust. "Ironhide, it is good to see you old friend." Optimus walked over to him, greeting him with a nod. Ironhide chuckled, and slapped Optimus on the back, causing the large blue and red mech to stumble over slightly. Ironhide had the strength of a Prime, and was almost as tall as one himself.

"It's go to see 'ya Optimus." Ironhide looked around at the desert. "But this is your new home? It's just a big pile of...rock." Ironhide looked to Optimus, who simply smiled, and shook his head.

"There is much for you to see Ironhide, Earth is quite a beautiful planet." Optimus said, looking to Ratchet. Sophie clung to the edge of his servo, looking at Ironhide and Prowl with wide eyes. "And it's inhabitants are very interesting creatures as well." Ironhide followed Optimus' gaze, only to let his own optics widen in curiosity. The black mech walked up to Ratchet, and before the medic could argue, snatched Sophie up in his own servo, looking her over. Sophie wriggled around his his strong grasp, letting out small wheezing noises, her cast and ribs hurting badly. Ratchet felt this pain and slight fear, and ran towards Ironhide, trying to get Sophie back. But Ironhide barley noticed, and held the red and white mech with his servo.

"These are Earths inhabitants? The things you share your home with?" Ironhide looked to Optimus. "You always were a big softie Optimus, but these things? It's so...squishy. How does it even survive?" Ironhide let go of Ratchets head for a moment, and the medic swiftly grabbed Sophie back, placing her to his chest plate as he looked to Ironhide angrily. Optimus walked up to the baffled Ironhide, grasping his shoulder.

"For being small, they are not weak. And although they may be, 'squishy', they are full of courage, and are strong." Optimus said, and looked to Sophie, who was scuttling back to the edge of Ratchets servo, looking up to Ironhide with the same curiosity as before. She seemed to have obliterated the memory of Ironhide almost squeezing the life out of her, and wanted to see the mech again. "But be careful with them. We are much stronger then they are, and you have to be gentle." Optimus knew that iron hide really didn't know the meaning of 'being gentle', but he hoped the mech would at least try. Ironhide grunted, and nodded towards Optimus, but looked back at Sophie. Prowl seemed suddenly interested in the small Human as well, and walked beside Ratchet, looking at Sophie with narrowed optics.

"Optimus, if I may," Prowl looked to Optimus for confirmation, optics flicking towards Sophie who was edging off Ratchets servo, only to be herded back towards his chest plate. Optimus nodded to Prowl, and though hesitantly, let Sophie slide off his own servo and onto Prowls white awaiting ones. The strategist examined Sophie, though was more gentle then Ironhide had been. The black mech was currently talking to Arcee, completely ignoring Prowl as he checked over the small Human. Arcee and Ironhide had once worked together on Cybertron, on a small Autobot outpost just outside Iacon, until they had gotten scattered when the Decepticons had attacked the joint. Soon Arcee had teamed up with Tailgate, a mech she had managed to escape the outpost with. Ironhide had heard of Tailgates passing, but had also heard about the femme soon becoming partners with one called Cliffjumper, a mech he had known long before Arcee. "So," Ironhide looked around. "Where's Cliff?"

Arcee looked at him, eyes glazed with the memory of her partners death. "He's..." Arcee looked away, trying to hide her sadness. "He's become one with the Allspark..." She said, voice weak.

Ironhide stared at her blankly, and then the words finally processed in his processer. "He's..._dead_?" A small choking noise erupted from Ironhides throat, and he staggered back. "But...no...Cliff? He's been...it's just...he could never..." Ironhide could not find words to express his feelings at this point. So many had offlined already, some very good friends had died right before his very optics. But Cliff had been beside him for so long, he couldn't have possibly died, not here of all places. If Cliffjumper were to die, it should have been on Cybertron. Not this forsaken pile of rock that they called a planet. Ironhide felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, and turned his head to see Optimus, who looked at him with sympathetic optics.

"We all grieve Cliffjumpers passing." Optimus said, true sorrow in his words and expression. "He did not deserve such a fate that ended his life-"

Ironhide turned towards Optimus. "The 'Cons got him?" The black mech snarled. Arcee nodded, confirming it. Ironhide looked away from the, snarling at the horizon. "Then all of those Pit spawned framers will pay!" He roared. "Which one of those ugly faced leaches killed him? I want to make sure they get a good aft kicking!" Arcee gave an encouraging smile, and came next to him. She wanted vengeance for Cliff as well, she wanted to see Starscream die a painful death. A _slow_ painful death. She didn't want that cheating, lying, stupid, weakling mech to get off easy. She would let Ironhide to beat him halfway, then she would get the final blow. It seemed like a 50 50 deal, each got their share of beating him senseless. And now that Starscream was no longer a Decepticon, it would be easier to eliminate him.

But before either could go off on a full blown rampage, Optimus grabbed both by the shoulders, pulling them back. "No. Vengeance will only lead to more death, some of which will be unintentional." Arcee huffed and crossed her arms, and Ironhide grumbled unhappily. "For now, you must become accustomed to Earth, which means also accustoming a vehicle mode." Ironhide quirked an optic ridge at him. "Ironhide, we are, 'robots in disguise'. The Human inhabitants do not know of our existence on their planet, and it would be catastrophic if they were to find out." Optimus explained. Ironhide simply nodded towards Optimus, and looked over to see Prowl holding Sophie, seemingly still examining her. Ratchet came by Prowls side, keeping a careful eye on her cast and the way Prowl was handling her. Sophie looked at Ratchet with a wide smile, and crawled towards the edge of Prowls servo, reaching towards Ratchet. Prowl knowingly let her slide off his own, and into Ratchets.

"Watchet, Watchet! Prowl said that you once fixed him up, and said that you one fixed Otmus up as well!" Sophie blabbered loudly. Ratchet only nodded with a smile, and Prowl was very confused for a moment. Once Blurr had gone on and on about things no one cared about, much like the little fleshing was, and Ratchet had not stopped and listened to him. He had welded his mouth shut! Prowl wasn't entirely sure if you could weld a Humans mouth up, but he knew if Ratchet could, he possibly would. But Ratchet was being...patient? A virtue that Prowl had amounts of, and Ratchet had none. Whatsoever. Ironhide came by his side, staring at the odd sight of the Autobot medic simply listening to the small Human child. To Ironhide, the little meat bag was just plain out annoying. It's mouth just kept on moving, words flying out, most of the words coming out that barely even made sense.

Ironhide nudged Optimus on his side. "Annoying little things." He grunted. "How do you put up with them?" Optimus barely made a small sniffing noise at Ironhides comment. Optimus knew that some of the Autobots would have trouble cooperating with the Human natives. Some in particular. And as in some, Optimus' thoughts immediately sprung towards Ironhide. He had already given an example of how he first handled a Human, in which he had almost squeezed the life out of Sophie. Ironhide let out a small huff at Optimus' silence, turned back to see Ratchet no longer holding the Human sparkling. No wonder there was a sudden silence. Instead, Ironhide felt something tap his foot, and looked down only to let out an annoyed sigh. The Human Sparkling. Sophie rocked on her heels, looking up to him with mild curiosity.

"Wow your really big! Are you Otmus' family? Can you get bigger? Why are you black? You should be a brighter color! Do you like the color yellow? I know that Bee Bee does! Actually, he's yellow too! Then you two could be twins or something! Or you could dress up like Otmus! Then you would definitely look like family. Are you a nice 'bot like Watchet? Did you know Bulky? Were you friends with him? 'Cause you seem like the person to know him. Do you know a guy named 'Jackie? Bulky talks about him _all _the time! Can you turn into a truck too? Oh, I bet your a really big car! Are you a truck like Otmus? Oh, or are you a race car like Bee Bee? Or are you a motorcycle like Cece? Could you be a motorcycle? 'Cause if you were, then you'd be a REALLY big one! And..."

Ironhide tried desperately to block out her, but he blabbing was causing him to lose it. Looking to Optimus, he looked ready to blow a fuse. "Is there an off button on that thing?" Optimus simply chuckled, shaking his head at the mech. "Seriously, how do you get it to shut up?" Ironhide put his servo's over his audio receptors, and Ratchet watched smugly. He had found his new weapon. Now he could threaten Ironhide if he didn't come to his check-ups with Sophie, instead of having to track him down himself. Now, with the two mechs in hand, Optimus quickly commed Bumblebee for transport back to Base, with Ironhide being tempted to squish Sophie as he walked with Optimus. Now they had a vengeful femme, a clumsy wrecker, an overcurious scout, a respectful leader, a short fused medic, an uptight strategist, and a trigger happy weapons specialist.

This was going to be interesting.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, first off, I'm going to answer yet another question. **

**Awwwwwwwww. Ratchet and Sophie asked, "Are Ironhide and Prowl going to get charges?"**

**My answer: A big fat NO. Do you even know what a catastrophe that would be? Ratchet would have two new Human pests to deal with! Not to mention Ironhide having no idea how to handle a Human. One second there's a Human, the next there's a fleshy pancake on the floor. Nothing more. And I think the Human who got Prowl for a Guardian would possibly ask Optimus for a new one. I'm sorry Prowl, your just so uptight and...Prowlish...**

**On a happier note, I'm in Mexico! Not that it does anything for you guys, I'm just happy I'm here :) Gives me inspiration, with all the sights and sounds, 'ya know?**

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><p>Miko looked at Ironhide with awe. "Holy crap."<p>

Ironhide gave a pleased look at the words, a smug smile on his faceplate as he turned to Prowl, who was looking over Ratchets equipment. Prowl picked up something that looked like a combination of a screwdriver and a hammer, only to let set out a small spark, and smoke came out of a small pipe in the middle. Ratchet looked at it with horror, and stomped up to the black and white mech. "Prowl! I NEEDED THAT!" Ratchet howled with outrage. The medic sighed in annoyance, and snatched the broken piece of technology out of Prowls servos, grumbling under his breath as he went to his workstation to fix it. AGAIN. Bulkhead had broken it just recently, and now Ratchet had to deal with yet another stupid mech who, although wasn't as clumsy as Bulkhead, had a tendency to break things that were smaller than him.

Miko leaned off Bulkheads shoulder to get a better look Ironhide, Jack had already met the new 'Bots, and was simply chatting with Arcee as the two always did, and Raf was having a race with Sophie, who was actually quite good at handling the remote to control the little car, as Bumblebee cheerily beeped both on. Rafs yellow car swerved around Bulkheads large feet, and Sophies followed in pursuit. But as they made circles around Ironhide, the mech looked at the small remote control cars with alarm, brought out his blasters, and shot at them, easily turning both cars into tiny little smoldering ash piles. Raf looked up at Ironhide with wide eyes, and Sophie walked up to him. She kicked his foot with her good leg, though it didn't even hurt Ironhide, and crossed her arms over her small chest. "What was that for?" She snapped. Ironhide optics widened a fraction at her courage, and she kicked him once more. "Don't be a meanie! Blowing up Rafs cars and stuff!" Ironhide looked to Bulkhead, who only gave a small smile as Miko stood on his shoulder cheering her on.

"What?" Ironhide said, looking down at her. Sophie made one last attempt to kick him, but instead Ironhide knocked her down with a digit. "Stop that!" Ironhide snapped. Sophie looked up at him with angered eyes, grabbed his servo, and gnawed at it. Ironhide brought up his servo in absolute horror, but Sophie clung on, nibbling on metal her teeth could never actually bite into. By the way Ironhide was acting, it looked like a scraplet was chomping away at his frame. Optimus looked at Ironhide with bewilderment as he desperatey tried to get the little Human off of his finger. "These things are savages!" Ratchet turned his attention off Prowl for a moment, and gave out a startled cry to see Ironhide readying himself to fling Sophie off his digit. With speed that none of them knew Ratchet had, the red and white mech bolted towards Ironhide, prying Sophie off of Ironhides digit quickly.

Ratchet only gave a glare to Ironhide before walking out of the room, and out of sight. Barely anyone minded, and went on with their usual day. Ratchet getting in a huff like that was perfectly normal, so it really didn't concern anyone that much. But Ironhide and Prowl had never seen him so mushy or patient with anyone, not even to his patients. And that even had the word _patient _in it. You just had an s, and that was all. The cranky, angry, easily angered, wrench throwing, aft welding, cussing, could-care-less-about-you medic had never been like what they had seen. Ever. At all. Whatsoever. Even when Ironhide had lost both legs, which had taken about 3, maybe 5 days to fix, Ratchet had banged him up even worse with an assortment of wrenches. Ironhide turned to Arcee. "What's up with him and it?" Ironhide had officially refused to believe that the little thing that had almost made his audio receptors bleed, kicked him, and _bit _him, was any gender. Arcee crossed her arms, not knowing if she should tell him or not. On one hand, she wouldn't tell him, and could risk being chased down by an angry black mech who she had lied to. On the other hand, she could tell him, she could risk Prowl going on the frizt, blabbering on about how Humans and Cybertronians could never be bonded, and also get a beating by an angry Ratchet.

Yeah, she was going with option one.

"Eh, Ratchet and Sophie are just close to eachother. All of us are close to our Human charges, some of us are just more protective of them then others." She stated simply. Ironhide and Prowl paused for a moment, and blinked at Arcee. Ratchet. Was close. To one of these.._fleshies_? Not even First Aid had gotten such special treatment from Ratchet, no one he was 'close' to did. So why was one little Human fleshy suddenly so important? _"_If you two have any more questions, you should ask Optimus." Arcee said, giving a small wave to them as she walked away. Ironhide watched her go for a moment, and turned around to see Prowl already talking to Optimus. Walking towards the two, Ironhide wished he had simply had stood in place. That would have at least been a little more entertaining than this. Prowl asked so many extremel_y __boring _questions, all of which made Ironhide want to fall into recharge. What Earths law enforcement was, what sort of government they possessed, the many wars that they had actually sort of interested Ironhide, but not a lot. Prowl and Optimus talked of so many dull things, and Ironhide could take that. But after 30 minutes of hearing about what Earth was made out of, Ironhide was at a breaking point.

"What the frag is up with Hatchet and the thing!" Ironhide blurted. Both Optimus and Prowl looked at him with bewilderment at the sudden outburst, but Optimus broke away from the stare, sighing.

He knew they would ask about Ratchets strange behavior, he just didn't think they would ask so soon. But, this was Ratchets private secret, not his. "It is not my business to say what is between Sophie and Ratchet, but I am sure he will tell either of you in time." Optimus said in his usual calm voice. Prowl nodded in respect towards Optimus, while Ironhide crossed his arms over his chasis, looking very displeased. Now he knew that something was going on between those two. But what was the question. Could the Hatchet have actual feelings under that layer of rust and stone? Unlikely. Was Ironhide going to snoop around and hound everyone for information about what was going on? Primus, yes! Ironhide wasn't a gossipin femme, but when something important or strange was being kept away from him, he would stop at nothing, and would not hesitate to hurt anyone to get that certain secret out and into his audio receptors. And that was what was scaring Optimus at the moment. Ironhide was standing there, that trigger happy little gleam in his optic that made most want to duck for cover and get as far away from him as possible. When Ironhide got like this, there was no way of bringing him back until his secret hounding self had completed it's mission.

Prowl seemed to sense this danger in Ironhide as well, and put both servos on Ironhide, as if holding him back from doing anything stupid. "Ironhide, Optimus has said it is only Ratchets to tell." Prowl said. "We have to wait for Ratchet to tell us, I'm sure he will sooner or later."

**XXX**

"I'm not going to fraggin' tell them!"

Optimus just let out a sigh, an edge of annoyance on the deep breath of air that he exhaled. Ratchet was refusing to tell the two, especially Ironhide. It would be quite funny to see Prowl have a spaz attack, but Ratchet knew that Ironhide would have a total fit. Why hadn't they been told about this? How was it even possible? You could bond with a Human? All of their questions, most of them Ratchet could not answer, flooded into his helm, causing a massive headache. But Ratchets one main question was, why should they be told? Arcee knew, and apparently Bumblebee had figured it out, but Bulkhead was still in the dark about all of this. They were all supposed to be in the dark about it, but two of them were just too smart and too curious. But three people was enough, no more should find out, only when Ratchet wanted them too. And that was never. If word got out about their bond, it could also reach the Decepticons.

Ratchet knew very well that this would interest them, and they would possibly abduct Sophie and himself to experiment on. And then there was MECH to think about. There last encounter, Silas had even threated Jack and Sophie that he would kidnap them, torture them, just to get their greedy little hands on their technology. But if Silas heard that a Human and an Autobot had a bond in which they could feel one another, be inside another's head, know what their thinking and know what they're going to do next? It would be Christmas day for the evil man. If either of their enemies found out about this, Sophie would be dissected like a frog and Ratchet would be diced down into little red and white metal cubes.

"Ratchet, you know that Ironhide will not stop until he figures out what is going on, don't you?" Optimus looked Ratchet in the optic, a very serious and agitated look on his medics faceplate. "You cannot keep going on, not telling the others. They will figure it out themselves sooner or later. After what happened with Sophie and Arachnid," Optimus could see Ratchet visibly shiver. "Bulkhead has been questioning me about your relationship with Sophie as well. You will have to tell them Ratchet, it is becoming harder to cover now with Sophie getting hurt." Ratchet looked away from Optimus, and felt it was wrong to tell them. But he knew that Optimus was right. Why did he always have to be right? It was getting harder for Ratchet to cover it up, after what had happened, everyone was suspicious of him. Giving him strange looks, as if trying to see through the shield of lies he had placed in front of them. Lies, that all they were. And they were growing. Excuses, stories, unconvincing tales, lies. That's what made up the shield, and it was breaking. Fast. Swords and spears of truth were slowly cracking down on it, breaking through the fragile layer he had made. How long could he keep on going with his secret? _Wait. _Ratchet thought for a moment. Secret. That one word brought his memory back to Sophie and her nightmare. The nightmare that was a memory. A memory that was of…..

_Joseph._

Ratchets teeth suddenly grinded at the name. He still hadn't discovered what that dream was all about, what Joseph did that was so horrible, so terrifying that Sophie had been scared to tell him. There were only a handful of things that scared Sophie. Spiders, Decepticons, insects in general, and clowns. None of those things connected with Joseph. At least one of them did to Ratchet at least. Decepticon. Ratchet was so sure that Joseph was a Decepticon pretender of some kind, maybe gone rogue. But Fowler had confirmed that he was Human. Ratchet had been hoping that he was a pretender so he could shoot him. But nothing in reality connected with Joseph. So what was Ratchet not seeing in this?

_Okay, let's go over this,_ Ratchet walked away from Optimus, settling down on a small metal wedge in the wall. _Sophie is four years old, many things can scare her. Joseph is an evil man, who I want to kill. Sophie has a memory of something that he did, and she doesn't want to tell me. _Ratchets metal brows furrowed in frustration. _Dig deeper Ratchet! Okay…Sophie is four years old. She used to live in an orphanage. The orphanage was ran by an abusive man. Sophie is with me. She is safe. _No, that wasn't true. She wasn't safe. But that was beside the point. _Past events. Sophie's been injured, was abused, her parents died, she ended up in an orphanage…._Ratchet thought for a moment, closing his optics and breathing out slowly. What could be more terrifying then your parents dying? So Ratchet went on with his thoughts. _Sophie's parents died, her father was a mechanic, he was late one day, Sophie's mother went out to find them, they never came home….._Ratchet sighed before going on. _They were murdered. _Ratchet paused for a moment, and let that thought sink in completely.

_They were murdered._

Sophie's original address, which Fowler had given Ratchet, was just two blocks away from the orphanage. Joseph had been in jail before. He had broken out several times before. _Why had he been in jail. _That one question replayed in Ratchets mind. So many things could have brought him into jail. Going past a red light, shoplifting, importing illegal drugs to different countries. All of which Ratchet doubted he ever did. First, Joseph was probably to drunk most of the time, and probably didn't even own a car. Ratchet hadn't seen one at the orphanage. Second, though drunk, Joseph was sneaky, and would and could probably do that without getting caught. Third, Joseph was too greedy to give up drugs to someone in another country, and most likely used them all for himself.

But there was one cause of arrest that was nagging at the back of Ratchets processer. Without another thought, Ratchet began to surf the web. On Google, the name Joseph Santos came up in several places, but all the wrong people showed on each website. Ratchet tried several more times, before finally getting to the right website. Though it was protected, Ratchet easily hacked into it, and went through his profile.

_Age: 30_

_Gender: Male_

Ratchet skipped through that, already knowing those details. He wanted to find out what he did to get in jail. After scrolling through most of it, Ratchet found what he was looking for.

_Convicted of seven murder accounts._

_Murdered:_

_Penny and Ralph Walter_

_Rita and Daniel Harrington_

_Kelly and Jay O'Regan _

_Nancy and Paul Buck_

_Juliann and Harold Griffin_

_Ann and Charles Martin _

_Paulina and Clarence Maza _

Ratchet stared at the wall blankly. He didn't want to believe it, he really didn't. All of these people….killed by his hand. But what was puzzling Ratchet the most, was that they were all couples. And by their profiles, young married couples. Why would Joseph kill only married couples? Did he have something against them? Ratchet didn't know, but he knew that if he had a problem with these people, this was no way to resolve it. Ratchet wanted to kill Joseph, yes, but for his own good reasons, and to make him pat for the people he had hurt in the past, and in the present. But the deceased couples and Joseph had no connections to each other. They all went to different schools, colleges, they never even worked together. They were only neighbors who barely knew Joseph.

Neighbors.

Ratchet jolted upright, realization dawning on him. His spark rate went up beyond levels he thought healthy, but that didn't exactly matter right now. Sophie's dream, nightmare, memory, whatever it was. Ratchet understood now. Sophie's parents were a married couple, young, just like the others. Neighbors with Joseph. _Murdered._ Ratchet felt his insides tighten, and his fists clench up into tight balls. His vision became blurry with rage, and he could barely see the large red and blue outline of Optimus walking towards him. But it all made sense.

Joseph Santos killed Sophie's parents.


	20. Chapter 20

**To Merchant Navy Cadet - Ratchet should really get his own cop show :) Though the episodes would only last for maybe five minutes** **XD And thank you for correcting me on the, "Could care less" thing. Creative criticism is always welcomed! :)**

**To Awwwwwwwww. Ratchet and Sophie - I'm sorry my answer didn't make you happy :( But I think those two will be just fine without a Human. I think Miko and Sophie will be all over Ironhide, so he's good XD As for Prowl, I'm sure either Raf or Jack will get along** **with him just fine :)**

**To mrsharrypotter - I know some of you peoples would probably pass out if you had Prowl for a Guardian 'cause you love him and stuff. I do actually fangirl over him, it's just he's not one of my favorite Autobots out there. He is super cool, I will admit, just not one of my favorites.**

**To Designation Drift - JOSEPH SANTOS WILL DIE O_O I will make sure of that.**

**And now...THE 150TH REVIEWER AWARD! Drum roll please!...*dum, da da da da da da dum*...And the award goes to...**

**MERCHANT NAVY CADET!**

**God dude, how many of these things are you gonna win? XD**

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><p>Ratchet stared at the wall, Optimus' concerned voice and worried glance muted and not noticed. Joseph killed her parents. <em>Murdered <em>them. And Sophie had seen it. It wouldn't be a proper memory/nightmare if she hadn't witnessed the scene for herself. But she had said that her mother had left her at home. She could have easily lied about that, but to Ratchet? Joseph must have threatened her very badly if she were to lie to him. He had probably taken her to his orphanage to keep her quiet, and had probably abused her to enforce such warning. Many other questions raced in Ratchets head, but to be answered by very limited answers. But Ratchet knew one thing, and one thing only. Joseph was a _monster_. He was not a Pretender, he was not a Decepticon. But he had the spirit of a Decepticon, as though one had cloaked himself in the skin of a Human. Ruthless, unforgiving, bloodthirsty. The fed off their victims screams, lapped up their tears of pain, devoured their dying souls. Decepticons never yielded torture till their victims were near death doors, or had already entered the house of the Grim Reaper. Things of pure and utter darkness that came down from the deep crevices of the Pit.

"_Ratchet, is everything alright?"_

The red and white mech was startled by Optimus' voice suddenly intruding his thoughts. "He killed them..." Ratchet said vaguely, voice a ghost of a whisper. Optimus cocked his head to the side for a moment, but before he could question what Ratchet had said, the medic stood up, looking dazed as he walked past Optimus. "I...need to speak with Sophie..." Ratchet said. Optimus cocked his head to the other side, now adding a quirked optic ridge to his confused expression. Ratchet looked at the ground, and suddenly, something hit him. Literally. Hello face, meet wall. Ratchet rubbed his throbbing faceplate, though still looked as dazed as before.

"Ratchet...the door is that way." Optimus said, pointing to the open exit. Ratchet simply nodded before turning around, almost walking into the wall again, and walking out the door. Should he tell Optimus? Yes, but after he confronted Sophie. He needed to know what she knew, what she saw. Had she followed her mother, or had her mother brought her with her to find her father? Had Sophie hid and watched, or had she been hurt along with her parents? What had happened that night was all Ratchet wanted, needed to know right now. He walked stiffly, watching the ground, optics wide and hard, yet not focused on a single thing. He felt the numbness of rage, yet the shock of his realization was keeping it bottled up inside until the time came when he had the chance to explode with fury and go after Joseph. He walked down the hallway, and for some reason, it seemed longer then usual. Everything was different, and Ratchet didn't know why. Slowly, Ratchet came out of the hallway, entering the main part of Base.

Bulkhead chatted with Ironhide, the two talking about something that Ratchet could care less about. Jack talked to Prowl and Arcee as Raf and Miko played one of their racing games on the couch, Sophie had Bumblebee watching excitedly. Sophie twitched slightly, and looked to Ratchet. Ratchet looked at Sophie with confused optics, and her own eyes widened. She knew he knew. Ratchet didn't exactly know how, but she knew. She whispered something to Bumblebee, and the scout simply nodded vaguely as she slid off the couch, walking down the metal staircase, and slowly, making her way to Ratchet, head down. Ratchet walked back into the hallway, Sophie trailing behind him, and stopped when he was sure the others could not hear him. Sophie kept looking at the ground, not daring to look up at Ratchet. "Sophie, what happened?" Ratchet questioned, but to no answer. Ratchet bent down. "I need to know Sophie. Did Joseph kill them? Did he..." Ratchet could barely say it, the fear of her tears to strong. "Kill your parents?"

Sophie didn't look up, but Ratchet could see the small drops of her tears making small dark dots on the floor. "You weren't supposed to know..." She croaked, finally looking up at him. "He told me not to tell. He said it was a secret." Her breathes became frantic, body trembling.

"Sophie, I had to know." Ratchet said firmly. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell the authorities?" Ratchet wanted to ask her about everything, but kept them down, for Sophie's sake.

More tears came down from her eyes. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" She sobbed. "He told me not to tell! He told me that he would hurt anyone I told!" She cried, and ran towards Ratchet, grasping his digit tightly. "I didn't want him to hurt you...I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me..." Her body became raked by frantic sobs and gasping breathes. Ratchet looked at Sophie with softening optics. She looked back to the ground, tear drops forming small puddles on the cold floor. "He told me not to..." Ratchet gently curled his servo gently around her back, the best he could do to form what seemed like a hug. All this time, she hadn't been worried about her own safety, but the safety of others, even ones that could handle themselves like himself. That was made her strong. Her never ending care and worry for others, never giving a second to bring concern to herself.

"He told me not to..." Sophie repeated once again. Ratchet suddenly felt his spark thump around in it's chamber, and clutched his chest. His vision grew blurry, but one thing remained crystal clear. Sophie backed away slightly, wavering back and forth as she clutched her head. Ratchet slowly stood up, only to lean against the wall for support. What was happening? Ratchet slid down onto the ground, and his optics slowly offlined. He barely heard Sophie fall against his leg as he felt himself grow strangely light.

**XXX**

_Ratchet looked around, unsure of where he was. Everything seemed gray and bleak, as though the color had drained out of everything. He was in some sort shop, cars with their hoods open and tools placed everywhere, oil puddles here and there. A man, barely 30, was underneath a car, seeming to fix it. Ratchet looked around frantically for a place to hide, and froze as the man came out from under the car. But much to Ratchets surprise, he didn't notice his presence at all. He looked Ratchets way, not at his face, but seemingly at his foot, and walked towards it. Ratchet waited for him to bang his head into his shin, but it never came. But to Ratchets absolute horror, he walked through him, grabbing a wrench, and walking back to the car, passing through his leg once more. _

_Ratchet looked at himself, optics wide with fear. Was he a ghost? If so, then why exactly was he here, of all places? And what had happened to Sophie? Wait...Sophie! Ratchet looked around frantically, trying to find Sophie, ghost or not. Ratchet stopped for a moment, and thought. If he was a ghost, then he had died. But, he certainly couldn't have died. He just felt a thump of his spark, and sat down. Could he have had a spark attack? But why would Sophie feel it too? The bond wouldn't project something like that onto her. But then there was that little paniced Ratchet running around inside of his head, screaming it's head off and crying,_

_"SOPHIE! WHERE IS SHE? We have to find her! Now! What if this is another dimension? What if she got hurt! The Decepticons could have attacked Base! Knock Out could be there! SOPHIE!"_

_Man...that little voice was extremely annoying. _

_But Ratchet had to stay calm. The others would notice his disappearance, and try to find him. But what if he wasn't in another dimension? What if he was asleep? Then it was just all a dream! Yes, that had to be the answer! But if he was asleep, then why was he dreaming of a man who could phase through him and fix cars? Ratchet looked at the man, cocking his head to the side for a moment. While everything was a different shade of gray, he was the only thing with actual color. He had a slightly strong build, not ripped with thousands of muscles, but still had quite a lot of muscles. His hair brown and short, and the tip at his forehead ended with a small spike. His emerald green eyes were the thing that was most striking about his appearance. There was something familiar about them. Ratchet knew he looked familiar...it was at the tip of his tongue..._

_Before Ratchet could think about it a little more, the sound of a car engine erupted, and it wasn't from the car that he was fixing. Ratchet watched as a gray car, from what he could tell, drive up to the entrance, and watched as a man exited the vehicle. All the anger, fury, rage, and absolute seething hatred broke through the brick wall of shock as Ratchet saw who exited the vehicle. Joseph Santos. Ratchet roared with fury, and stomped over to Joseph as he waited by his car. Since Ratchet couldn't touch anything, and everything went through him, he had his chance to do something he had wanted to do ever since he met the man. Ratchet stomped on him, swiped his blades at his body, and tried to bite his head off. It was the perfect anger management for Ratchet._

_Ratchet backed away from Joseph, all of his anger out, and watched the two men. The mechanic man looked at Joseph, oil and grim covering his face and hands. "Can I help you?" The mechanic called to Joseph. Ratchet turned his attention to Joseph, he looked at his car, tapping his fingers against the hood, but said nothing. Ratchet knew there was something wrong, he could sense it. The mechanic wiped his hands with a cloth, and leaned his hand against a broken down, rusty car. "Um, sir. Is there something wrong with your-"_

_Joseph finally let his pale gray eyes, which matched his surroundings, snap their attention onto the mechanic. "You have a kid, right?" The mechanic raised an eyebrow at Joseph as he walked forwards, but nodded suspiciously in response. "It would be, pretty sad if anything were to happen to you or your wife..." Joseph traced his finger along the long scratch on a red car. "It would be such a shame if your daughter were to be left alone-"_

_Before Joseph could take even another breath, the mechanic lunged onto him, pinning him down. "If your implying what I think your implying, what reason do I have not to knock your teeth out?" He growled. Ratchet watched the two men tussle, but movement behind him caught his optic. Looking over his shoulder, just behind a couple of crates, was a woman and a child watching the scene with horror. And Ratchet noticed the child instantly. Sophie's eyes were wide with fear, watching as Joseph threw punches at the mechanic, and the mechanic actually managed to make Joseph spit out a tooth. Ratchet now knew what this was. It was her memory nightmare of when Joseph killed her parents._

_Ratchet knew that the man had seemed familiar! He was Sophie's father! And the woman curling protectively over Sophie must be her mother. Her mother was quite pretty, with long blond hair and pale blue eyes. But her expression was filled with fear as her mate fought on, now punching Joseph in the gut. Sophie trembled all over, though her mother covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. Ratchet brought his attention back to the fighting men, and watched with fear as Joseph punched Sophie's father in the jaw, letting him fall to the ground. The mechanic brushed away some blood from his nose, jumped back up, and latched onto Joseph, forcing him back down. Sophie's father raised his fist, and Josephs eyes grew wide with fear. Had her father won the fight? It seemed like he truly would. Maybe her parents had managed to live, and Joseph had told her they died. _

_The sound of a click of a gun, and Ratchet knew what was coming. Though it seemed in slow motion, which was strange. Ratchet watched as three bullets came out of the gun that Joseph had pulled out from his jacket, and slowly embedded themselves into Sophie's fathers chest. He slowly fell to the ground, eyes wide, mouth open, and came in contact with the ground with a rather loud thud. Everything seemed to be lowered in volume. Sophie's mother let out a scream, Sophie herself had began to cry, shaking violently. Sophie's mother made her way to her husbands dead body. And suddenly, everything, even the people, became gray, the colors drained from each of their bodies. But one color remained. Red. A crimson puddle flowed out of the three holes in the mechanics chest, his eyes staring at the ceiling blankly, his now gray eyes glazed over with death. Sophie's mother collapsed in front of his corpse, body shaking. Her hair covered her face, but Ratchet could see her tears gently dripping onto Sophie's fathers shirt. The blood stains blossomed around the three holes, making it to look as though his shirt had a red design on it. Joseph looked at Sophie's mother with cold, narrowed eyes, and grabbed a large pipe off the counter full of tools. _

_Walking up behind the weeping woman, Joseph raised the metal pipe, and hit it against her head. The woman cried out in pain, falling over her husbands dead body. Blood poured out from a dent on her head, but her moaning indicated she was still alive. Joseph raised the pipe once again, smacking it against her skull. There was a scream of pain, a limp form, and silence. Joseph looked at the two, now convinced they were both dead, and dropped the now blood stained pipe on the ground. Placing the gun back under his jacket, he turned to walk away. That is, until Sophie let out a cry. Ratchet watched, optics turned down in sadness, as Sophie ran towards her blood stained, dead parents corpses. She pulled on her fathers arm gently, sniffling as tears ran down her face. "Come on Daddy...we gotta get you help." She said voice barely up to the level of a whisper. Looking to her mother, who was slumped over her husbands body, she put a hand on her back. "Mommy! We gotta help Daddy!" Sophie gave a gasp, and recoiled her hand, looking at it with horror. It was covered in blood. Her own mothers blood. _

_Sophie tried to gasp for breath, but it seemed useless. Falling to her knees, she cried over her parents bodies. She had barely began her grieving when Joseph took hold of her shoulder, turning her to face him. "Listen you little brat!" He growled as Sophie cried even harder. "You won't tell anyone about what happened here, alright?" Sophie just looked at him, sniffling hard. "You tell anyone, and I'll make them end up like your parents over there." Joseph motioned his head towards the two corpses, and Sophie gave a small, strangled cry. "Shut up! You'll attract the cops!" He hissed, sounding like a snake. Covering Sophie's mouth with one of his bloodstained hands, he ran out of the place, shoved Sophie into his car and drove away. Ratchet looked at the exit for a moment, then down at her parents corpses. Dead, beaten bloody by a mad man. Did their spirits now look down at their daughter, wishing they could help her, comfort her, save her? Did they look down at Ratchet, shaking their heads? Why would they want their only child in the hands of a giant robot? An alien to them and their planet? Ratchet looked at the ground, which had suddenly turned red. Would they want this? No...they would want something better for Sophie...something safer. But Ratchet had vowed to keep her safe! _

_"But I've failed so many times..." He whispered. "It's all my fault...she's in danger because of me...of what I am..." Ratchet shook his head, his spark filled with grief and sadness. "It's all my fault...I-"_

"RATCHET!"

Ratchet opened his optics, looking around wildly. Bulkhead looked at him with confusion, and behind him the others showed the same expression. Ratchet looked down at his feet, to see Sophie leaning her back against his ankle. Tears stained her face, her brows were furrowed, and she let out small whimpers, cringing as something in her dreams hurt her. The only thing he could think of was Joseph. Ratchet looked at the others, who gave him questioning looks. "Ratchet, what happened?" Bulkhead asked. "We came to find you and Sophie, but the two of you were passed out on the ground." Ratchet looked at him blankly for a moment, then looked to Optimus. He gave his leader a pleading look, hoping that he could make something up for him. He still didn't want to tell them about the bond. Not yet. Maybe soon, but not yet. Optimus sighed, and walked up to Bulkhead.

"Ratchet has been very sleep deprived these last few days working on getting the groundbridge to extend farther into space." Bulkhead looked at Optimus with wide optics, but he kept going. "Ratchet must have simply needed sleep, and was too tired to make it to his berth. Sophie must have wanted to join him." Optimus said calmly. Everyone looked to each other for a moment, but nodded to Optimus. They always believed him, thinking a Prime could never lie. That was yet another lie. Ratchet sighed as the others went away, all except for Optimus. The large red and blue mech looked at Ratchet with concern. "Ratchet...what did happen?" Optimus questioned.

Ratchet looked at him for a moment with tired optics, and sighed once more, heavier then the last time. "Sophie has kept many secrets from us..." Ratchet settled himself into a sitting position, careful not to disturb Sophie. "I have found...disturbing news about Joseph..."


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay, lets do this...**

**To Awwwwwwww. Ratchet and Sophie asks, "Why the frag did they give Joseph Santos?"**

**My answer: By 'they', I'm guessing you mean the government or whatever else there is. The answer is, They didn't. Joseph stole it. Killed the guy who actually owned it, pretended like the guy had retired and given the place to him because he had thought he was a "good person", and scared the kids in there to death and threatened them, like he did to Sophie, to be quiet. **

**Also from Awwwwwwwww. Ratchet and Sophie, "What are the parents names?"**

**My answer: Okay, for starters, Sophie's actual last name is Crawford. I know, weird last name. Just remember it because it will only be mentioned just a few times in this fic. Her mothers name is Emily, and her fathers name is Alexander. Their names names will be mentioned, at least when they figure out what their names are. And dont go saying, "Oh, but Sophie can tell them!" No, she can't. To her, her parents names her Mommy and Daddy. Simple as that.**

**To Merchant Navy Cadet: AAAHHHH! It's that again! I'm so sorry! I'll make sure to check that out every time! I swear! I'm currently slapping myself on the head for my stupid mistakes...Man...It's turning red now :( Merchant, I swear on...on Optimus' pureness! That's right, I went there!  
><strong>

**And a shout out to all of those people who now have a burning hatred for people named Joseph, as I said in the last chapter in the A/N...**

**HE. WILL. DIE. O_O**

**Now...LALALALALA HAHAHAHAHA! Hehehehehehe...**

* * *

><p>Ratchet grumbled under his breath, using his fingers to connect several different wires, carefully welded metal together. Ratchet had told Optimus about his rather...disturbing experience, and for a moment, Optimus had refused to believe his medic. But, the great mech soon realized his actions were foolish, and accepted the truth. Some Humans were not as good as he wished they could be. But as a form of punishment for making him make up an excuse for Ratchet, he had ordered him to go through with the excuse. Make the groundbridge go farther into space. Which seemed nearly impossible by now. He was in a small crevice by the groundbridge entrance, working on it carefully. Of course, he had his own little helper. Ratchet held out his servo, the other working on the groundbridge. "Laser sealer."<p>

Sophie looked around at the many tools, all of which were at least twice her size. Walking over to a large cylinder shaped one, she grabbed it between her arms, dragging it to Ratchet awaiting servo. Huffing and heaving, after about a minute, made it to his servo. "Laser sealer." She grunted as she pushed the tool into his servo. Ratchet used it for something that she couldn't see. He held out his servo again. "Drill compacter." Sophie dragged herself towards the pile of tools once again, sighing as she saw the size of the one he had asked for. It was huge! No, that was an understatement. It was was gigantic! Sophie went to the other side of the object Ratchet had requested, and tried pushing it. It barely moved an inch. She went to the other side, and began to try to pull it. Useless. So she went at the middle of the strange looking device, and tried to roll it. Nada. She didn't give up though. Putting her shoulder against the large thingamabob, she pushed against it to get it to roll over somehow, but her shoulder began to ache, so she tried pushing it against her back. After several minutes of trying to push it, she slid down against the metal, breathing heavily. "Drill compacter!" Ratchet said a little louder then the last time.

Sophie glared at the servo, which was inching closer, and kicked his digit. "It's too heavy!" She whined, kicking his digit again. Ratchet poked his head out of his small crevice, looking at her with a stern glare. "It's true Watchet! It's too heavy!" She said in a sharp tone. She had been lifting and carrying tools all day long. She was tired, and extremely cranky. She looked over to see Raf talking with Bumblebee. "Raf!" The spiky haired boy looked at her, straightening his glasses as he always did. "Raf, come try to push this!" Raf looked at Bumblebee with a quirked eyebrow, but the yellow scout simply shrugged. Putting his servo to the ground, Raf hopped off, and walked towards Sophie with his same confused expression. Raf stopped as he came just a few inches away from the large device, and looked to Sophie. She nodded, and motioned her head to it. "Try and push it. Tell me if it's too heavy." Her head snapped towards Ratchet, glaring at him. "'Cause Watchet's being a big fat meanie and is yelling at me to push it!"

Raf looked at the two, both the same sleep deprived look in their eyes and optics, and sighed. He really didn't have a choice. Sophie would force him into it again if he said he didn't want to. Putting his hands against the metal, he tried to push. Yet, even when Raf pushed it, it didn't barely even move. Raf gritted his teeth, and pushed harder. But his pushing and panting and heaving was no use. Giving up early, he slid down the side of the metal object, face red as he breathed heavily. Sophie looked to Ratchet, pointing to Raf. "_See_?" She crossed her arms, nodding her head. "Too heavy." Ratchet rolled his optics at the two, and grabbed the tool away from the two, going back to working. Sophie looked at Ratchet for a moment, then at Raf with an instant smile. "Raf! Can you believe it?" Sophie stood up, jumping up and down. "It's almost Easter!"

Ratchet poked his head up once again, stopping his working. Easter? What in the name of Primus was that? He'd never heard of it before. Wait, did Easter mean Birthday? Raf had said, at least when he was eavesdropping, that Sophie's birthday was coming up soon. Looking to the two, he lowered his head back down, pretending to work. "I know. I saw my parents stashing away some chocolates bunnies already!" Chocolate bunnies? Was that some kind of Human ritual for birthdays? Ratchet was getting the strange feeling this wasn't a brithday thing. So, what was it? "My sister already bought some Peeps! I already had one." Peeps? Now Ratchet was getting confused. Chocolate bunnies? Were they actual rabbits covered in chocolate? And Humans ate them? Ratchet let a shiver go down his spine. That would be disgusting...

"I love Peeps! I already got my Easter planned! Miko helped me! First we're gonna paint Easter eggs, and then go on the Easter egg hunt, then have Peeps! And then chocolate bunnies!" Sophie said a bit too fast. Easter eggs? Humans painted eggs, and then hunted them? What was the point of that? it was useless really, they could easily eat the eggs, and they weren't much of a challenge to catch. They didn't have any legs. And what was going on with these so called 'Peeps' and 'chocolate bunnies' they kept mentioning? Ratchet shook his head. Humans were too confusing. Going back to actual work, he managed to hear Sophie's last sentence beyond the sound of his drill compacter.

"Me and Ratchet are gonna have so much fun!"

Wait...he, of all the mechs in the universe, was supposed to participate in these silly games? But, Ratchet knew he could not say no. Sophie had been through so much already, she deserved a little fun. The last game they had played a game, Arachnid had attacked her and she had been hurried to the Hospital. Speaking of which, her cast had finally been taken off her leg, freeing it. Ratchet still kept a careful watch on it, making sure it was alright. Miko had been if a huff because her Godzilla's had been all over it, and she had been proud of her work. Of course, she had tried to get Jack to break his arm again so she could doodle on it. Arcee had, 'spoke', to Miko, and now the Asian girl would barely stand near Jack, more or less try to break his arm again.

But he was getting away from the subject again. If Sophie wanted him to go on one of these..."Easter egg hunts", he would try his best to have a good time with her. Ratchet felt something suddenly fall on top of his head, though it didn't actual hurt, and looked up to see Sophie sliding down his helm to meet his optics. "Hi Watchet!" She waved to him, one hand grasping his metal, red eyebrows. "I just wanted to say sorry for kicking you." She gave him a worried look. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

Ratchet chuckled, and carefully plucked Sophie off of his head and into his palm. "No Sophie, you didn't hurt me." He looked at her for a moment, and she looked at him with a broad smile. "Sophie, can I ask you...what is Easter?" Sophie's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She looked at Ratchet as though he had just grown a second head, maybe even double that by the way she was staring at him.

"You guys don't know what Easter is?"

The voice didn't come from Sophie's mouth, but instead, it came from above. Looking up, Ratchet and Sophie saw Miko looking at them with shock. Ratchet brought Sophie back up from the crevice, letting her slide off of servo. Ratchet carefully got out himself, looking at Miko with a quirked optic ridge as she had a spaz. "Bulk, you never told me you guys didn't have Easter?" Bulkhead couldn't even answer before she went on. "Do you guys even have holidays? How could you live without holidays? They're like the best thing since four day weekends! Or Slash Monkey!" She cried. "Why-?"

"Miko! Calm down!" Bulkhead said over her loud voice. Miko looked at him with surprise for stopping her rant. "I think you did have holidays on Cybertron..." Bulkhead scratched his head for a moment. Everyone's head turned to ratchet as he let out a heavy sigh. "Something wrong 'Ratch?" Bulkhead questioned.

Ratchet looked to the ground, shaking his head. "Sometimes I just forget how old I am..." Ratchet looked up at them now. "Unlike Bulkhead," Ratchet shot the burly green mech a glare. "I know that Cybertron did celebrate many Holidays," Ratchet looked away for a moment. "At least, that was before the war..." his voice became quiet for a moment, and Bulkhead a distant look in his optics. Ratchet broke the silence as he cleared his throat. "On Cybertron we had many holidays and celebrations and festivals. Such as the Festival of Bonding. We would all bond together as one being with our planets core." Ratchet explained. It had been a thing that Cybertronians had looked forward to each year, or used to look forward to. It would be a moment of silence, all spark beats as one, as they listened to the quiet hum of their creator, their god. Lights would be hung everywhere, in the streets, on houses, in the towns and cities and neighborhoods. Everywhere, there would be light. On the Festival of Bonding, Cybertron would look like a star it would shine so bright. They would all join servo's, every single Cybertronian. Rich or poor, young and old. They would mold into eachother, forming long lines around the planet. The veins of Primus would show, gleaming bright as people turned off their lights. Ratchet remembered the first time he had experienced this. He had been with his creator, his servo's molded into her's. He had watched in awe as their planets core lit up and everyone joined together. That was the Golden Age, when everyone was connected, when everyone was the same being. When everyone cared...

"_Yeah, what are some others_?"

Ratchet looked down to see Miko sitting, looking up at him expectantly. Sophie sat next to her, looking completely enthralled. "Well...there was Primus Day, when we celebrate a Human equivalent to Christmas." Ratchet said as Bulkhead nodded along. "There was Iacon Remembrance Day, when we remember the great Autobot capitol that fell to the hands of the Decepticons." There was an anger note on the edge of Ratchets voice, and everyone could see the look of discomfort on Bulkheads face as he turned his head away. He'd seen Iacon after all the fighting, seen the gory aftermath. The once proud Autobot capitol had been shattered, buildings toppled over, the streets cracked, with large craters and burn marks from bombs. The city had been painted with energon, both Autobot and Decepticon. He and Wheeljack had been assigned to check out if there was any survivors, since no one else had volunteered to do it. At first, neither Wrecker had understood why no one would. Bulkhead now knew, and he was sure that Wheeljack knew too. Ratchet flicked his optics to his right to see Ironhide standing behind him, listening intently. He noticed Prowl had walked up behind Bulkhead, looking at Ratchet with an expectant look. He wanted him to go on. Prowl wanted the Humans to know what had happened to Iacon.

But...why?

The story was a bit too sad for Human sparklings. Primus, not even Cybertronian sparklings liked to hear the story. So why would Prowl choose to tell them? Ratchet sighed, and walked over to a small metal 'bench' like structure. "Would you...like to know the story of Iacon?" Miko probably already knew there was going to be action in it, and nodded excitedly along with Sophie. Ratchet watched as Jack slowly walked past Bulkhead, and watched him as he stared at Miko and Sophie. He opened his mouth to say something, but Miko put her finger to her lips, hushing him with a hiss of silence. Jack rolled his eyes, and Miko patted the ground next to her, showing him to sit down. Raf trailed behind Jack, though he sat down next to Sophie. Ratchet sighed, and looked at the ground for a moment. Then, he looked at the four Human children. Miko stared at him with excitement, Sophie with curiosity, Raf with a very interested look, and Jack who simply waited silently and patiently for Ratchet to begin. "Iacon...Iacon was sometimes viewed as the capitol of Cybertron. It used to be the Council of Autobot Elders long before my time. Though when the war started, it became the Autobot capitol and headquarters. When Optimus and a few chosen others went to go find scattered Autobots, the our cause suddenly fell into disarray...but Iacon remained strong, a symbol of hope for other Autobots." Ratchet looked to the distant, and breathed out deeply.

"But Megatron did not want us to feel this sort of hope. He gathered his troops and besieged the city. But the Autobots in Iacon were a tough bunch, and did not surrender easily. Megatron tried time and time again to capture the city, the battle to take the city for either Autobot or Decepticon went on for thousands of years." Ratchet's optics flicked downwards. "But, as time went on, the Decepticons soon gained total control of Cybertron. Except Iacon. By that time, Megatron decided it was not worth trying to capture it. Autobot refugees came to the city, but by the time Optimus and his crew had returned from their quest, Iacon was in ruins, barely anyone alive except the refugees." Ratchet looked up. "But, the we maintained our presence in the city, if only a small resistance bases in the ruins themselves. The old Autobot Base was located there at one point in time, and the Wreckers," Ratchet flicked his optics towards Bulkhead. "Operated from the Base, conducting strikes and raids on Decepticon holdings for many years." Ratchet explained.

"Yeah, we beat those 'Cons good!" Bulkhead said, pounding his fists together. Miko shot up, looking at Bulkhead with excitement.

"Tell me everything 'Bulk!" She exclaimed. Bulkhead began telling his own stories of destruction, which he seemed very proud of, and Raf, Jack, and Sophie, sat with Miko, listening intently. Prowl stood beside Ratchet as Ironhide stood next to Bulkhead, putting in a small comment of his own once in a while. Iacon...so many died...so many they knew...so many innocents dead. All because of war. War, a thing that brought sacrifice, grief, rage, and death. So much death. It ravaged the most purest of souls, creating a dark thing beyond recognition. Warriors, their warriors, had taken cities, overthrew rulers, faced monsters, nightmares, explosions, everything. Ratchet had seen far worse. Being a medic was the toughest part of war. Trying to heal those who who had been rushed in, limbs lost, energon pouring out of their wounds. Watching as those you could not save slowly die. Simply watching as color faded away from their bodies, the light in their optics diminished, their bodies go limp. And finally, hearing as their sparks stopped that strange thumping and humming they made. Ratchet had tried to save so many...and to no prevail. Looking to Prowl, the white and black mech looked off into the distant, a seemingly vacant look in his optics. He was thinking about it too. The looses they had experienced. The tragedy of their past.

Ratchet shook his head. Why was he thinking like this? Getting up, he looked at Bulkhead as he told a story of how the once raided the city of Kaon. Miko listened with interest and excitement, Jack had much interest in what he was saying, but wasn't exactly as excited as Miko, and Raf was sitting quietly, simply listening as he always did. Ratchet's optics searched around there for a moment, and nervousness welled inside him. Sophie wasn't with them. Just as he was about to go around and getting together a search party as he had when Sophie went missing when she was playing 'Hide and Seek', he moved his foot forwards and heard a small grunt underneath him. Looking down, he saw Sophie clinging onto his foot, looking up at him. Today, for some reason, she seemed to want to climb all over him.

"Hey Watchet!" Sophie said, jumping off of his foot. She stood next to him, and rocked on her heels as she usually did. "Did you save lots of people in that story?" She questioned curiously. Ratchet looked at her for a moment, then suddenly looked away to the ground. Sophie looked at him, slightly understanding what his silence meant. Knowing this, she quickly changed the subject. "Watchet, can you tell me more about Cyber...Cyberon..." Sophie thought for a moment, mouthing the word several times. "Cybertron!" She said with a broad smile. Ratchet looked at her with a small smile, rolled his optics a bit, and sat down on the metal ground as Bulkhead had. Sophie sat in front of him, looking at him with excitement.

"Well..." Ratchet smiled, shaking his head. "Where do I begin? Cybertron...Cybertron was a beautiful planet, well, it was before the war. I will never find a planet that could ever compare to it's beauty, and I've traveled many galaxies in my life time." Ratchet explained. "Cybertron was completely made of metal, it's core our god, Primus. Now, Primus wasn't always our planets core. He used to fight Unicron, the bringer of choas. They battled on, though neither won because they were an equal match for one another. So Primus created the first thirteen original Primes, and they helped defeat Unicron, casting him away into space." Ratchet said, and Sophie leaned in with extreme interest. "Primus then became one with the planets core, and life went on. More Cybertronians were created, cities were built, and we thrived on the planet that our ancestors named, Cybertron."

"Cybertron used to be a peaceful planet, no war, no hatred." Ratchet sighed happily, remembering the days of his sparklinghood. "There were gladiator rings though, in which mechs and femmes would fight ferocious creatures and beasts that inhabitated our planet." Sophie gasped, putting her hands up to her mouth. Ratchet chuckled, and her hair gently. "No one actually got hurt during these, it was all for show really. Though you had to be very fit to fight there though." Ratchet explained. "But Cybertron was my home. Our home." Ratchet said, a sad note at the end of his voice. Sophie looked at Ratchet curiously as he slumped over a little. Why was he so sad? He was just talking about how great Cybertron was, and was now staring off into the distance, an ancient and sad look in his optics. If Cybertron was the Autobots home, why couldn't they go back? Surely once in a while they got homesick. Sophie knew when she was away from home for a long time, she got a little homesick as well. But she just couldn't understand the source of his sadness. Ratchet gave one last heavy sigh before standing up. "Why don't you...Why don't you just go play with Bumblebee, alright Sophie?" He said.

The small Human looked at him for a moment, as though examining him, with a quizzical stare. But she smiled and nodded, standing up and running towards the yellow scout who was currently listening to Bulkheads story. Ratchet sighed, looking to the ground with tired optics. Cybertron...it was hard to even think about. His thoughts always became blurry with sadness, thinking about it. How he wished he could return there, rebuild their once beautiful home. Ratchet shook his head. He could never return there, not now. If he were to leave, he would leave Earth behind. He would leave Sophie behind. Thinking of leaving all this behind was foolishness. Ratchet tensed as he felt a pair of eyes burning through his metal hide. In the corner of his optic, he would see Optimus standing in the hallway, looking at his friend with concern. Optimus always knew what someone was thinking, it got extremely annoying most of the time. Ratchet turned to Optimus, no longer hanging his head. He raised it high, and with hard optics, and nodded to their leader. Optimus only gave a deeper look of concern, and Ratchet put a cap on a bottle filled with sadness inside of him, inside the dormant place of grief that was slowly being filled with bottles of different emotions.

Ratchet turned, showing no sadness, no anger, no grief. A empty look filled his look as he made his way to the exit. Transforming down into his vehicle mode, he drove out of Base, leaving Optimus and the others behind. Dirt was carried up in clouds behind him as he drove on the deserted desert road. He'd taken drives alone before, most of those times was when he needed to fume about Bulkhead breaking something of his, but this wasn't that. This drive was filled with many different thoughts and emotions. Ratchet could build a ground bridge to possibly transport them to Cybertron, though it would take much work. If it meant they could rebuild their home, he was up for it, and he was sure the others would be too. But another side collided with that part of him that desperately wanted to go back. It told him that he couldn't leave, not now while he had so many things to look after here. He had to make sure Miko didn't mess with any of their stuff, he had barely begun to teach Raf about Cybertronian technology, and was giving Jack some unwanted help for the next science fair. But, he had to ask, would the others be willing to go, leaving their charges, their friends, behind them? No, Ratchet had to ask himself that question. Could he willingly leave Sophie? Two parts of him said no. The reasons? Number one: He'd feel as though a giant hole had been blown into his stomach from the guilt, and number two: Their bond probably wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.

Ratchet had already been over this with himself. If Sophie and himself were to be separated in such a way, that they were several planets away, the consequences would possibly be fatal. Cybertronians could endure such a thing, but her small heart would barely be able to handle it for even a minute. So going back...now it was impossible. No matter what he did, how hard he tried to figure out some scientific way to figure out how to be apart from her, it wouldn't work. On Cybertron, most of their scientist's couldn't even figure out how bonds were formed. No one understood what Ratchet was going through. The clashing battles fought inside himself, how he was only payed for his kindness to Sophie by agonizing pain and torture. He supposed Arcee would understand in some way. So many people she had kept close to her spark had died by the hands of Decepticons. But she hadn't been bonded with them. This was so much different. But Ratchet had to ask himself one question. Was this, such a small, young being involved in such a gory war...wrong? She deserved so much better then this...then the life that Ratchet would provide her. She shouldn't be involved in something like this..something so violent. She should be living a normal life, with a normal Human family. Not stuck with him, in this war, nonded with...with an alien, a beast. That was what he was. A monster.

If he raised a single finger, she could so easily be hurt. He had to be so cautious around her, all of them did. A poke too hard, a slip of a servo, the misplacement of a pede, and she could so easily die. So many bad things had happened to her with Ratchet...so many life threatening things...things that no child her age should ever have to go through. For Ratchet, it used to be just another day in the life they lived in. Just another day in their endless war. But no, it wasn't that anymore...it was more personal. Ratchet had tried so hard to keep her safe, to shelter her from every danger, but no. It seemed whoever was up there wanted to see him in pain, to see them both in pain. He didn't know what to do anymore, it seemed like everything was rushing past him, the present blurry and too fast for him to examine the situation, to compute what was going on. It was all a mixture of different paints. A splatter of blue, to represent Arcee as she found Jack. A faded mixture of red and silver to represent Cliffjumper, who had lost his life. A dark purple diamond to represent the dark energon that Megatron had forged. A silver figure to represent Starscream, who had detached himself from the Decepticons. A large blotch of green to represent Bulkhead, who had declined the invitation from Wheeljack to join him on his journey in space. Dots of black and yellow to represent Bumblebee as he fought for control over his body from Megatron. Lines of blue and red to represent Optimus, who had given up the Matrix of Leadership to save Earth from Unicron. And a smeared picture of red and white to represent Ratchet, who had battled Megatron while Optimus regained his memories.

Ratchet saw the colors fade, new ones appearing, and fading again. But it was all going by so fast. Battle cries sounded from the colors that went past him, screams, crying wails. The past a shadow casting behind him, the present slipping away from his grip like sand, and the future a silvery mist that he could not see past. The past he felt guilt, the present he felt confusion and anger, the future, he felt dread. The mist veiled what lay ahead of them, the many struggles they would have to go through, the enemies they would have to battle, the friends they would meet, the allies they would loose. So many things he could not see, so many tragedies he could not prevent. Why did everything have to be so hard? Why couldn't he just, for once, do something right? Why couldn't he and Sophie simply be with one another? It was all so complicated! It all so hard!

It was all for love...

**XXX**

A roll of thunder echoed in the Base, and the sound to return it was a frightened squeak. Sophie trembled on the couch, body covered in a blue blanket. Her head peeked out of the blanket, Woobie's head also slightly coming out as well. Lightning storms, the thing she was most scared of. A streak of lightning could be seen from the entrance from the Base, and Sophie let out a small shriek of terror, bringing her head back the blanket. She shivered as she trembled, desperately trying to get some warmth from the blanket she had covered herself in. It was so cold at night in the Base. She'd never really noticed, because she'd always fall asleep in the crook of Ratchets arm. It was always so warm there, and she wished she could be laying there right now. But Ratchet had been out for hours now. Jack, Raf, and Miko had already left because they had school tomorrow, and Arcee, Prowl, and Bumblebee were out patrolling for the rest of the night. So it was just Bulkhead, Optimus, herself, and Ironhide on Base currently. Peeking out of the covers, she looked to the entrance cautiously, feeling even colder at the sight of the vacant tunnel. Where was Ratchet?

Sniffling, she shakily brought her feet, her right one with a sock on it, the left bare, on the cold metal ground. She knew she couldn't be the only one who was afraid of the storm. Optimus or Bulkhead or Ironhide could also be afraid as well. She needed to see if they were okay. The blue blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her Woobie clutched in her right hand, she made her way down the metal stairs. Jumping off the last step, she jumped with fright as another lightning bolt flashed in the entrance, and bolted down the hallway. After she knew she wouldn't be able to see the lightning anymore, she stopped in the hallway. Her teeth chattered as she walked along, looking for at least one of the Autobots. Another boom of thunder, and she let out another shriek, though this one did not go unheard. Ironhide jumped out of a large metal doorway, cannons online as his optics searched for any danger. When they came to lay upon a shivering Sophie, he snarled, and retracted his weapons. "Oh, it's you." Sophie barely noticed the way he said the word "you". It sounded as though he had just found a bug on his windshield. Sophie walked up to him, but he backed away into the room he had jumped out of. This must have been his quarters, because they were all different types of guns and things in there. But they didn't look like guns, so Sophie didn't take notice of them either.

Ironhide looked down at Sophie as she trailed behind him. Bending down, he took his servo and swept her away from him. "Don't you have something else to do besides annoy me?" She snarled. "What did you scream about anyway?" A boom of thunder answered his question as Sophie squeaked, an ran towards his leg, clinging onto it. Ironhide rolled his optics, and brushed her off of his pede. "Are you serious youngling? Your afraid of that? I've fought creatures who make noises louder than that!" Ironhide turned his back on Sophie, climbing into his berth. "Now go away and bother someone else." Ironhide said as he offlined his optics. Sophie sighed, and slowly walked out of his quarters. Well, Ironhide was off the list of people who were afraid of the storm. Going on with her journey, she walked back out into the hallway, looking around with sleepy eyes. The only thing keeping her up was Ratchets absence and the coldness. Bringing her Woobie to her chest, she looked around, trying to locate where she was. She jumped, but not from the thunder, and she heard several tiny tapping noises coming from the end of the hallway. Cautiously, she made her way up to the corner, peeking her head over the side. A room was at the end of the corridor, a light shining through the doorway.

Eyes filled with curiosity, she scrambled towards the door, poking her head in. Optimus sat on the edge of a berth, reading a data pad with some strange writing she couldn't read. As she stepped forward, the blue blanket she held tucked under her foot, making her fall over. Optimus' head turned away from the data pad, and he put it down as he saw Sophie tripping over herself with the blanket. Quickly making his way towards her, he carefully picked up the mess of blanket and child with his servos, bringing her up off the ground. Sophie struggled with the blanket, and pushed her way out only to be met by Optimus' shining blue optics. "Oh, hi Otmus." She said, sitting herself in down in his servo's. "I was looking for you." She said, bringing the blanket around her shoulders again, placing her Woobie in her lap. "Woobie was afraid of the storm, and wanted to know if everyone was okay." She said innocently. Optimus let the corners of his metallic lips curve upwards as she cuddled the stuffed rabbit to her small chest. But Optimus' small smile faded as she saw her body shiver, teeth chattering ever so slightly.

Bringing back the smile he brought her down to his spark chamber. "Oh yes, I'm sure Woobie was very worried." Sophie could hear Optimus' voice rumbling within his large metal chest as warmth emitted off of him in strong waves. Snuggling herself onto the smooth metal, she looked up at him with interest shining in her round green eyes. "Now, I heard you saw that he was afraid of the storm." Sophie smiled slightly, and nodded. "That's not good. Would you two like to join me on my reading?" Sophie sat herself down, and smiled broadly as she vigorously shook her head. Optimus chuckled, and walked back to the berth he had been on. Seating himself back down, he used one servo to cup Sophie against his chest, and the other to hold up the data pad. Sophie was barely prepared for when Optimus suddenly brought her up onto his shoulder, letting her settle herself as he did something with the data pad. Sophie watched as several pictures passed by on the screen. Optimus stopped as he came upon lots of gibberish like words and letters that Sophie still didn't know what to make of.

"Now, do you know what this is?" Optimus turned his head towards her, and she shook her head. "It's Cybertronian, our native language. This...This is one of the stories we used to tell sparklings, our children." Optimus explained. "Would you like to hear it?"

Sophie put her finger to her chin, tapping it gently. "First I gotta ask Woobie." She said. Lifting up the stuffed rabbit, she placed it's mouth next to her ear. Nodding several times, she placed Woobie back in her lap, and smiled. "Yep, he want's to hear it too." She said with a final nod.

Optimus smiled, and looked at the data pad. "Once there was a little mech..."

**XXX**

Optimus had almost been near the end of the Cybertronian fairy tale when he had felt Sophie breathing softly, snuggling deep into the crook of his neck. He had brought her next to his spark chamber, where she clung onto the red armor. Optimus looked down at the sleeping child, but his concentration was not on her. It was nearly one in the morning, and Ratchet still had not returned from his drive. Ratchet never went out this long. Optimus worried that his friend was doing what he thought he was doing. Something foolish. Ratchet was not the kind do to anything stupid, but Optimus feared that after everything he had been through the in past weeks, Ratchet had now become unpredictable. But what exactly was he doing was Optimus' question. He suddenly noticed Sophie's eyebrows furrow, body tensing. She turned away from Optimus, back facing his spark chamber, and reached out for something, but all she got was air. She shook her head faintly, and a tear managed to escape her tightly closed eyelids.

Optimus guessed this was one of the nightmares that kept Ratchet up at night. She began to whimper, and those soft whimpers turned to moans, and those moans quickly turned into terrified shrieks. Optimus gently rubbed Sophie's back in panic, not knowing what to do. It worked, but only for a second. The shrieks returned, and she clawed the air, seeming to attack something invisible to his optics. "Sophie." Optimus said, voice full of concern. She wrestled the thing even harder, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Sophie!" Optimus said in a louder tone. She slowly opened her eyes, body still tense as she looked around. Optimus gently rubbed the thick of her back with a digit, and she leaned into it, tears dripping off her chin. Her breath quivered, body trembling along with it. "It is alright Sophie," Optimus said softly. "It was simply a nightmare."

Sophie looked up at him, fear and sadness in her large green eyes. Shaking her head, she clasped the digit that had been rubbing her back. "Otmus...he was there again..." She whispered. Optimus looked down at her with deep concern and sadness. His spark reached out for her, it really did. He was once an orphan himself when he was a sparkling, but he had not watched his own creators die. He could barely imagine the pain she had felt then. And then being abused by that monster Joseph. It wasn't fair such a young being, so full of life and happiness, would have to endure such horrors. Bringing her even closer to him, he sighed, but did not say anything. How he wished Ratchet was here right now. Could he feel Sophie's pain right now? Hopefully he would, and come back. Sophie grasped his armor tightly within her small hand, placing her head against Optimus' chest. "He was there..."

Her sobs became quieter and quieter, till there was no sound to be heard from her but her small breaths. Optimus knew she was gone to sleep now, but how she had saddened him. Crying herself to sleep, it was the worst way to do it. Large footsteps alerted him, and he looked to the door, hoping to see Ratchet. Instead, he saw the large green body of Bulkhead come by the doorway. He passed by a very tired Optimus, and was almost out of his sight when Bulkhead did a double take. The wrecker looked at Optimus in surprise, looked around for a second, and entered the room. Optimus watched him silently, fearing that if he spoke he would awake Sophie and she would begin to cry again. Bulkhead looked at Optimus, optics flicking to Sophie. Optimus looked down at Sophie for a second, sighed, and looked back up to Bulkhead. "She's been having nightmares." He explained. "They seem to be getting worse each night..."

"Oh...well, is Ratchet back yet? I've been getting this weird twitch in my servo, it's kinda freaking me out." Bulkhead said, motioning towards his glitching servo.

Optimus shook his head. "No, Ratchet has not returned. Do you know if Arcee, Bumblebee, or Prowl are back from their patrol?" Optimus questioned to the green mech. Bulkhead shook his helm as well, and Optimus looked down. Not at Sophie, just the floor. He felt Bulkhead stare at him, and he felt Sophie tremble in his servo. All was not well, he could feel it in his metal bones. Where was Ratchet? He didn't know. When was he coming back? He didn't know that either. What was he doing? Thinking. Ratchet always thought about things. He was driving, and he was thinking. Optimus didn't know what he was thinking about, but he knew he was thinking. Maybe about Cybertron, maybe about Sophie, maybe about both, but Optimus knew he was thinking. Looking things over, trying to find out what he wanted to do, what he could do, and what he needed to do. Optimus simply wished he could do all his thinking faster, because he really needed him right now. Bulkhead needed him.

But Sophie needed him the most. Optimus could feel her small body tense again, and gave Bulkhead a warning stare for him to leave. The nightmare was starting again.


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm on a roll guys! Phew!**

** And one a more serious note, guys, I just want you all to say a prayer for my friend, because her grandfather recently died. He was fighting off cancer for a long time, but today the fight for his life ended. As a small memorial of him, I would like you all to please, say a prayer. **

**A quote for her grandfather, one he said frequently, **

**"It's nice to be important, but more important to be nice." **

* * *

><p>Ratchet slowly drove into Base, tired beyond words. Yes, he had gotten recharge at a parking lot, but it wasn't the most comfortable thing to fall asleep in his vehicle mode. It was 7 a.m. in Earth time, and Ratchet was bone tired. Slowly transforming, he fully entered the missile silo. But something was wrong, he could feel it. And he knew exactly what was wrong. Sophie had cried for him through the bond, her sadness and fear overwhelming. But Ratchet had forced it back. He had pushed his own feelings through, showing her that he could not return, not yet at least. He didn't know if she understood that, but she had stopped her wails for him. But she hadn't just stopped crying for him, she had blocked him out completely. And this worried the mech. Straggling towards the hallway, he leaned against the entrance. He sighed, and took a step forward. But he froze in place as he saw a pair of glowing blue optics in the darkness in front of him, looking at him with sadness and concern. Ratchet stood before the seemingly bodyless figure, looking into the clear blue optics. "Optimus." He greeted.<p>

As Optimus walked out of the shadows, and what he held against his chest brought Ratchet grief. Sophie's face was stained with tears, body shaking from the sobs she had just given, sleeping against Optimus with furrowed eyebrows, fear plastered onto her face. Optimus shook his head, looking at Ratchet with disappointment. "She needed you." Optimus' voice was so unusually soft, but the three words that came from his mouth hit Ratchet like a boulder. Nightmares. No, her memories. Ratchet was always there to comfort her, to take away the fear and terror that they brought. But he hadn't been there for her. He had ignored her cries for help, for comfort. He had pushed them away, thinking only about himself, about his problems. He had been so selfish. Optimus reached out his servo's, Sophie on both of them, and Ratchet extended his own. Optimus' large black servo's let Sophie slide off them and onto Ratchets own large gray ones. Ratchet slowly brought her to his spark chamber, holding her against it.

Optimus had been holding her the same way, next to the warmth of his spark, but it had done nothing. Sophie's reaction to being close to Ratchets spark was intriguing to him. Ratchet closed his optics, letting the sound of his spark be heard through the bond. It hummed gently in both their ears, and almost immediatley, Sophie's body relaxed, her eyebrows no longer furrowed, her heart rate going down. She had not fear nor happiness on her face, but instead a peaceful look. Ratchet sighed heavily, and looked up to Optimus, who watched them both. Ratchet looked at him with a tired, almost bleak stare, and Optimus greeted it with a concerned, ancient look of his own. How could one single Human cause them so much trouble, he would never understand. Ratchet walked past Optimus without a word, heading for his quarters. He slowly entered, and sat down at the edge of his berth, looking down at Sophie. She looked so peaceful, as though nothing in the world was wrong.

Oh how he wished that could be.

_Nature, Nuture, Heaven, and Home,_

So many things were wrong, so many things were not well. He waasn't even sure he was doing alright anymore. His thoughts of Cybertron had drifted off to war, and war had brought him to death. So many lives he could not have saved...

_Sum of all and by them driven,_

So many things crossed his mind as he lay there on his berth, optics open as they searched the cieling of his quarters for something that could not be found. An answer. An answer to the many questions he asked, only to get silence. Why were all these bad things happening? Why hadn't he come to Sophie's call? Why was he so weak? So full of love brought on by a being he had bonded with. Was the love he felt his own? Or was he simply recieving it from the bond?

_To conquer every mountain shown,_

He could not defeat these wonders, these horrible thoughts that came to him. He asked himself why he was thinking in such a strange way time and time again, only to come to silence once more. He always asked for silence, for the children to quiet down. Now he wished for the noises, the shouts, the annoying sounds they made. He wanted them so they could shoo away his current worries, let them as loud as they wanted so the thoughts would leave his processer. But all he got was silence. Disturbing silence.

_But I've never crossed the River..._

The River of his worries, his fears, his thoughts, was slowly flooding into the shore of restraint. He couldn't keep bottling them up, not all of them. The once vacant place inside of him would soon become overflowed with his angers, the things he wished to scream out to others, only to mumble them silently to himself. He wished to express these things, to somehow explain to everyone how he felt, what he wanted, what he needed.

_Brave the Forest, Brave the Stone,_

Ratchet had been in much tougher situations, much tougher actually. He had fought off Decepticon Zombies, fought Megatron and Knock Out when he had been on Synthetic Energon, had battled Knock Out and been left for scrap after the sparkling center bombings, and so many more stories he wished to forget. So why was it, that one single Human could bring him so much pain, make him think of so many things he did not want to think of? He couldn't seem to get over it, he'd never be able to understand it.

_Brave the Icy Winds and Fire,_

So many things he had fought off, and still came out the same war hard medic that everyone recognized and feared. He'd watched many die, saved many who now still lived. His problem right now was so small compared to what he had done in the past, it was like one of Sophie's kicks compared to getting eaten alive by a swarm of Scraplets. There was a very big difference. And his problems were nothing compared to his own team mates. Arcee had lost two people she had cared about the most, and was out for revenge, though Optimus would not even hear of such a thing. He had often seen Bulkhead staring off into space, and he knew that he was thinking of Wheeljack, the things they could have done together out there. The wrecker missed his friend ever so badly. Bumblebee was still saddened that he could not speak, and sometimes rubbed his neck where his voicebox was, knowing that it would never be repaired, he could never speak to the rest of their Human friends. Optimus, who had to fight someone he had once called brother, every mistake he made , every mistake one of them made, was blamed upon Optimus. Ratchet had no reason to complain about his problems compared to theirs.

_Braved them Beat them on My own,_

So...why was it...after all he had been through...all he had faced...all he had battled...all those he had lost...that one single child that had become close to him...could cause so much pain?

_Yet I'm helpless by the River..._

Helpless, that was he was. Helpless to help anyone, helpless to save the ones he could not reach, helpless to prevent things from harming them, harming him, harming her. Many would think of them anything _but _helpless, but it was so untrue. Even the greatest of hero's had their weaknesses, the strongest of men had their weak points. Weak, helpless, vulnerable. When he said this, many would think he was talking about Humans. No. He was talking about them. They were weak because of their kindness, how they so easily accepted the Humans into their lives. They were helpless because of their size, during the times when they truly needed to be as small as them. They were vulnerable because of their friends, who's courage and loyalty would be the end of them, and destroy the Autobot's lives.

_Angel, Angel what have I done?_

Ratchet was making himself vulnerable, making himself weak, making himself helpless. He accepted the feelings of grief, the unusual happiness, the terrifying fear that Sophie pushed onto him. He had feared she would change him. His fears were true. She was changing him, slowly and painfully into something soft, too kind to care about the war. He had to care about the war, it was the only way of getting the peace they fought so hard for.

_I Face the Quakes, The Wind, The Fire,_

Ratchet always faced his fears, and conquered them easily. But these fears he now had could not be conquered, could not be defeated. He could not ensure that Sophie would always be safe, would never be harmed. He knew she had already been through so much harm, harm she did not deserve. He could not ensure that they would win the war. He could not ensure that he would even survive through it.

_I've conquered Country, Crown, and Throne,_

On Cybertron, they had conquered Decepticon Bases, invaded their towns, bombies their cities. But here on Earth, the victories were not as easy. Everything seemed in reverse on this planet. The Decepticons conquered most of their old Bases, invaded their weapon facilities, bombed Earths government stations. And the Autobots stood by and watched, unable to help. It always seemed like the side that fought for freedom and goodness as always the side with the least chance of winning. The Decepticons had an entire warship filled with energon, weapons, dooms-day-devices, space bridges, and soldiers. And what did the Autobots have? Four Human children, an old missile silo, and a groundbridge. They did have to Spark Extractor, but Optimus said it would only be used within times of great need.

_Why can't I cross this River?_

But Ratchet had made it through all of those bad things. He could make it through this, he always seemed to make it out of any scrap just fine. If Sophie tried to change him, maybe it would be for the better. But even though Ratchet was all mushy all over her, he was still no where _near _going all soft on the others. He still hit Bulkhead on the head with his wrench when he wasn't cooperating during his check-ups, he would still nag Bumblebee to death if he ever even tried to use his voice box, and he still didn't dare throw a wrench at Arcee, knowing very well that she could and would throw it back at him. He sighed. At least that hadn't changed.

_Pay no Mind to the Battles You've Won,_

But he shouldn't dwell on the past. This was not like all those other times, nothing like it. There was going to be much fighting, Ratchet could already see that in their future, but there was much more than that. He had to fight himself, he had to fight off his emotions, he had to verbally fight Fowler, he had to fight for them. He had to fight for Sophie. Sophie, his one main priority now. Sophie, the one he was bonded. Sophie, the one being in the entire world that he loved with all his spark. He now knew that his love for her was not projected off of her love for him. It was his own emotion, it was his own spark speaking such feeling.

_It'll Take A Lot More than Rage and Muscle,_

Ratchet knew what he had to fight with. He had to fight with not rage, not sadness, but love, hope, happiness. All those things, he could see them ahead, past the mist of the future. They were there, just waiting for him to grab them. Just within his reach. So close, but so far. He was almost to that point to where he could find such happiness. The war was not over, they still had a chance. There were many other relics to be found, much more adventures to go on, so many more journeys to endure. Ratchet saw life was a patient. If you could find the wound, the cause of sickness or pain, the patient could live on, happy to have such life. But if you could not find where the wound was, how treat the sickness or pain, the patient would have to be deactivated, or the limb with the disease would have to be amputated, leaving the patient dead or handicapped. Once slip of the servo, one stupid mistake during an operation, and poof. Your patient goes up to the Matrix. Gone, deactived, deceased, offlined.

_Open your Heart and Hands My Son,_

The way Ratchet saw the world was not the best way to look at it, the way he saw life was even worse. But Sophie saw the world in such a beautiful and amazing way, seeing life in everything, seeing goodness behind every ugly face, knowing it was simply a mask. But sometimes she was wrong about the mask. With Arachnid, she had tried to pull off the mask, but had found it to be the dark femme's actual face. The same with Knock Out. But, she had not been afriad of Ratchet, or Optimus at first sight, and Ratchet knew most children her age would have been leaking lubricants all over their pants. The thing Ratchet saw through the bond was truly amazing. It opened his optics to a different world as if he had been blind before, let his spark bring things close to it as though he had shunned everything else, let his servo's feel the beauty of all things as though he had been numb forever.

_Or You'll Never make it Over the River..._

Ratchet knew the only way to get over this, was that he had to open his spark, his optics, his servos. He had to let his spark reach out to his fellow Autobots, his optics open to their point of view, his servo's intertwine with with their own. He had to look at what they were going through, see past his own narrow look at life, and open up to a whole new world to see, a whole new universe to look at from below. They had been through so much, and Ratchet realized he had known so little through it all. He had not let the emotion he now accepted as love into his spark, he had detested it. But now, new horizons peaked over the mountains they had climbed, warmed the ice they had tredded, washed over the deserts they had traveled.

_It'll take A Lot More than Words and Guns,_

Words could not express what Ratchet felt, what they all felt sometimes. Guns were as good as words were. Every bullet they shot had words embedded upon them, though you could not see them. Sometimes there were no words upon the bullets that killed others, just a blank bullet that showed they had no reason to kill them, only war. Sometimes when they were truly someone you hated, the words that you wished you could have said before they died were planted upon them. But for Optimus, Ratchet knew what words would be on his bullet when he shot Megatron. _I'm sorry Brother._ Ratchet knew that Optimus inwardly dreaded the day he would have to extinguish Megatron's spark, but it was the only way to end their raging war.

_A Whole Lot More than Riches and Muscle,_

Riches, the Decepticons had much of. The Muscle, the Autobots had much more. They had the wreckers, they had the Dinobots, and many more who were willing to kick Decepticon aft. But riches seemed very important in this war. It simply depended on who had the bigger gun, the bigger cannon, the most energon. Yes, energon was the riches in this war. They needed it to survive, and the Autobots found so few Energon mines, most of it being taken up by Decepticons. But the Autobots were slowly getting their own energon, slowly but surely. They held hands, creating a chain of hope, a hope at peace.

_The Hands of the Many Must joing as One,_

They had to become one, to destroy the evil and darkness that always tried engulf their shining hope. They would fight for freedom. They would hope for peace. They would end the war.

_And Together We'll cross the River..._

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><p><strong>I know, short chapter compared to the other one, which I would just like to say was 7,000 words long! Anywho...The song used in this was called <em>The Humbling River<em> by Puscifer. It's the trailer song for the game Fall of Cybertron, which I hear is going to be totally EPIC! This song was just really inspiring...you guys should really go listen to it. Like, NOW.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay, I know everyones been dying to see some action. I've even been wanting some action! So here you are! **

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><p>Sophie looked at her cards, eyes flicking between them and Miko. Yes, they were reduced to playing cards. They were all very bored, nothing currently happening. No monsters, no Decepticon activity, no life or death situations, no 'if-we-don't-stop-this-it-could-be-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it' kind of thing, not even a angry Fowler nagging them about whatever the heck! Even the 'Bots seemed very bored as well. Bulkhead was just kind of standing there, watching them play cards with his arms crossed over his chasis, his fingers drumming against his armour plating. Arcee was do whatever she did when she was alone, either in her quarters or the training area. Optimus was looking at the monitors intently, either actually looking at them or simply just staring and thinking as he always did. Prowl was next to him, though he was actually looking at the monitor screens, mumbling something under his breath. Ratchet was fixing something at his work bench, while Bumblebee chatted with Raf about something they couldn't care less about. And Ironhide...wait. Where was Ironhide? Well, it didn't matter right now. Miko looked to Jack, a bored expression on her face. "Got any eights?" She questioned to Jack.<p>

He shook his head. "Nope. Go fish." Miko lazily put her hand near the deck of cards, flopping it over to the top card, and putting it slowly in her deck. Jack looked to Sophie, sighing. "Got any fives?" Sophie looked at her deck, looking over the numbers. Was that a five or an eight? Maybe a ten? Wait, wasn't that a Joker? Giving up, she shook her head. Jack picked up a card, placing it into his deck. Sophie looked over her cards, still unable to read them, but just pretended like she knew what she was doing. She looked up to Miko in a bored fashion.

"Got any Queens?" She questioned.

Miko shook her head, and with a dramatic sigh, watched as Sophie reached her hand into the pile. But before her fingers could even touch the end of the card, a loud beeping noise cried out, making them all jump. Even Bulkhead. Miko looked around with excitement, knowing that beeping usually meant action. And action meant more photo's for her scrapbook! Jack looked around with interest, wanting to know what exactly the Base was beeping about. And Sophie had ducked behind Jack, fearing that Agent Fowler was coming to take her away again. Ratchet scurried over to the monitors, pushing Prowl out of the way, and tapped on several keys rapidly. "It's Ironhide." Ratchet called out. "He's being chased by..." Ratchet paused, and snarled towards the screen. "What did that stupid glitch headed slagger do?" Ratchet yowled. Optimus looked at Ratchet with confusion.

"What is happening Ratchet? Who is chasing Ironhide?" He asked his medic. Ratchet gave Optimus a very annoyed and angry look, shaking his helm as he crossed his arms over his chasis.

"He's being chased by ten Vehicons and twelve Decepticon Seekers! That's who's chasing him!" Ratchet snapped, and went to furiously tapping at the controls. Jack looked to Arcee with wide eyes, exchanging a shocked glance. "When I get my servo's on that mech..." Ratchet growled under his breath. Sophie looked to Bulkhead, who shared a slightly worried glance, as Miko jumped up, impatiently awaiting a ground bridge to open so she could go see the fight. Sophie turned to see Arcee standing a few feet away from them, optics concentrated on the monitors. Well, that seemed like all everyone was looking at. Sophie didn't know what was so interesting about it. There was just a bunch of red glowing dots. It didn't seem all that fun. "Ironhide, report your status." Ratchet spoke to the screens.

_"Ratchet, I'm being chased by Decepticons. What do you THINK my status is going to be?" _Ironhide retorted through the comm. as Ratchet rolled his optics. _"And don't worry 'doc. I got everything under control."_

Ratchet looked at the screen for a moment. "_Under control?_ Ironhide, your being chased by almost of fleet of Decepticons, and your telling me, that you have everything under control?" Ratchet said with anger and disbelief. There was a long pause, a very tense one, and every stared at the screen for an answer from the mech.

_"Yes."_

That was it. That was all it took. Ratchet snarled, verbally growling towards the monitor, and swiveled on his pedes, storming towards the exit. Arcee looked to Bulkhead, and both looked to Optimus. Their leader looked to Ratchet with slight surprise, and nodded to the two, who followed the fuming medic, keeping their distance from him. "If the Decepticons don't kill that mech, I swear I'll have to do it myself!" Ratchet transformed down, revving his engines angrily. "He'll be the end of himself!" He shouted as he drove out of Base. Arcee trailed behind him, Bulkhead behind her, Bumblebee following behind him, and Optimus at the end of the line of vehicles. So that left Jack, Miko, Raf, Sophie, and Prowl. The white and black mech stood in place, stiff as a board. He'd been left alone. At Base. With Humans. _Four _of them. They looked to him, seeming to not know what to do after Ratchets sudden burst of rage.

Miko put her hands on her hips, looking to Prowl with a confused expression. "So? You gonna go with them?" Prowl looked to her slowly, simply shuddering his optics at the Human. "Dude! Are you going to just stand there like a statue all day or you going to go out and kick some 'Con butt?" Still nothing from him. "Okay, let me put this as slowly as I can." She took a deep breath, and pointed to him. "Are-You," She pointed to the exit. "Going-To-Join-The-Rest-Of-The-Autobots," She pointed towards the emblem on the floor of the room. "To-Turn-Those-'Cons-Into-Scrap-Metal?" She finished, and crossed her arms as she looked at him expectantly. Prowl looked at her, then the door, then back at her. Miko groaned, stomping off to the coach. Prowl looked to Jack with confusion. Jack shrugged, and Prowl finally moved, taking a step forwards so he could see Miko as she slumped against the couch.

"I cannot leave. I must guard Base while the others are away." Prowl said calmly. Miko looked to him with an angry pout.

"So? You wouldn't leave the Base completely alone. There would be me and Jack and Raf and Sophie." She gave that mischevious smile she always usually had on her face, and straightened up on the couch. "Plus, we can operate the ground bridge. So if you guys needed to bridge back, we'd be here." Prowl looked to the entrance to the ground bridge. They could use some extra help. And the children could protect themselves. Besides, they couldn't get hurt while they were here. Deciding on it, he nodded to Miko, and walked towards the ground bridge control, pressed a few buttons, and a large swirling portal of colors opened before him. Sophie watched him walk into it, disappearing before her eyes. But she also saw something else. Miko was making a run for it. Jack and Raf didn't seem to notice her, and Miko would probably already be through the bridge once she had told them. She had to take matters into her own hands. Sneaking away from Jack and Raf, she scurried down the stairs, bolting after Miko as she disappeared as well.

As Sophie jumped through the bridge, landing on her back as she fell out of the bridge, she saw Miko hiding behind a rock, watching the fight. Noticing Sophie's slight moans, Miko turned and waved her towards the rock. Sophie crawled towards Miko, who crouched as her phone snapped photo after photo of the 'Bots and 'Cons. Sophie peeked her head over the rock, eyes widening at the sight. Ratchet stuck his knee into a Vehicons gut, Arcee swiped as a Seekers chest, Bulkhead was knocking a drones helm in, Ironhide was blasting, chuckling happily as he did so, at two Vehicons, Prowl was circling his opponent, and Optimus was punching a Seeker, letting it fly a few feet away at the impact, landing on the ground. But Bumblebee was no where in sight. Strange. Sophie looked back to Miko, who was still snapping photos. Her phone suddenly began to buzz in her hand, and she didn't even look to see who it was as she placed it to her ear. "Hello?" She said in a slightly playful tone. Her pigtails went down as some one talked back to her on the phone. "Oh, hey Jack." She suddenly perked up. "I'm with the Autobots! Duh!" She rolled her eyes a bit. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. Geez, I'd thought you'd gotten used to this already dude." She looked to Sophie with antoher, yet very dramtic, eye roll, and used her hand to symbolize Jack as he probably nagged her. "Bye Jack!" Closing her phone, she looked back to the fight.

Only to be met by another face.

Sophie and Miko looked at the drones faceplate with horror, his visor that hid his optics glowing an intense red as he saw the two Humans. Miko and Sophie barely had enough time to duck as a bullet shot through the Vehicons head, causing him to topple over before them, his head, which now had a fairly large hole in it, laying upon the rock they had been hiding behind. Sophie jumped as she heard a victorious laugh, and the dead Decepticons body gave slight movement as Ironhide placed his foot on the 'Cons back. "Ironhide: 20, Decepticons: 0!" He said in a disturbingly happy tone. His smug smile went away as he saw a dumbfounded Sophie and a cheering Miko. Ironhide turned his head towards Optimus, who was currently fighting off three Seekers. "Optimus! It seems you have a few unwanted guests." His optics hardened on them, cuasing Miko to stop her cheering and jumping. Bulkhead turned his head, knowing who had come along automatically, and groaned before winding a 'Con with his wrecking ball for a servo. "What should I do with them?" Ironhide called.

"Watch them until Bumblebee arrives!" Optimus shouted over the gun fire. Miko slumped over, and Ironhide let out an annoyed growl. He was going to be baby sitting, while they were fighting? Not fair! He'd waited ages in space just to get some action, and that time seemed even longer with Prowl on board to correct his every mistake and almost make him blow a fuse. Well, he could watch over them and fight at the same time. He just had to stand in front of them really. Getting out his cannons, he began to blast away each 'Con, one by one. Miko watched him, totally enthralled by his moves and the others as they fought. Sophie watched, eyes getting bigger after each grunt of effort, each discharge of a gun. What were they doing? It certainly wasn't any game she had ever seen. It didn't look fun at all, hitting eachother like that. But she had seen Bulkhead hit Ironhide in the arm sometimes, but this didn't seem like that at all. Miko seemed excited about it, so she must have known the rules of the unknown game. Well, Miko was excited by a lot of things. But she shook off those thoughts as she heard a chilling chuckling coming from a large rock structure a few feet behind them. It wasn't Ironhide, she could already hear him chuckling, and it didn't seem to be anyone else around that she could see. What if it was another Autobot?

She had to find out. Looking to Miko for a second, Sophie crawled away from the 'Bot and girl, cautiously making her way towards where the chuckling had been coming from. Peeking over the rock, her eyes widened in surprise. A silver mech watched the fight from the other corner, chuckling at it. He was very tall, probably a little taller than Bulkhead even. But why was he chuckling like that? It was so strange. What was so funny about the game they were playing? Was it meant to be funny? Well, she found no humor in it at all. She took a step forward, but suddenly she recoiled. Last time she had found a mech at the edge of one of the 'Bots games, he had almost squeezed the life out of her. She should go back to Ironhide and Miko, yes, that seemed like the best idea at the moment. But Sophie knew it was too late when a rock gently was kicked off her foot, and she cringed as it rolled against the hard desert ground. Though it wasn't the loudest thing she had ever heard, the silver mech jolted upright, looking around. Not good, this wa not good at all. As he turned his head in his direction, Sophie was frozen in place. His optics. Red. Red optics meant run. But she couldn't, her feet wouldn't allow her to. As the mech walked forwards, she cringed, and closed her eyes. Those optics, they reminded her of Arachnid. Those large purple optics, like venom themselves.

As she opened her eyes, she nearly fell over. The silver mech stood right in front of her, a disgusted look upon his faceplate. "_Human_." He growled under his breath. Why was it, that every mech and femme she met, that they always started out by instead not saying hi, or at least something like, "Oh, hello. Your name is? Good. Now, I'm going to try and kill you now!" Not just _Human. _What was up with that? But she would have to ask that question later, since the strange silver, seemingly hostile mech was reaching out to grab her. Her feet wouldn't move, but she had another tool to save her. Screaming. Opening her mouth, she raised her head to the heavens and shrieked a high pitched scream that sounded like a banshee. The silver mech back away, startled, and put his servo's over his audio receptors. "Stop that!" He ordered, but it just made her scream even louder. Someone would hear it over the gun fire, someone always seemed to be able to. The silver mech growled, and stomped his foot on the ground. Sophie fell over, and looked up at the mech with fearful eyes. He smiled in a disturbing way, but Sophie wasn't looking at his faceplate. She was looking at his pedes. Were they...heels? She'd only seen heels on business ladies, and maybe super models, but never a 'Bot. Weren't heels for ladies? Could men wear them too? Ratchet didn't wear heels, and neither did Optimus, Bulkhead, Ironhide, Prowl or Bumblebee. Arcee didn't even have heels!

But his were so...high. It was so weird. But she guessed they looked good on him. Now that she had looked over the heels, she wasn't so scared of him any more. Anyone with heels couldn't be that frightening. But as she saw the Decepticon emblem on his chest, her feet finally seemed to work again. Getting up quickly, she bolted away from the silver mech, screaming her head off again. Ironhide turned to see Sophie running towards him, and was about to tell her off when he saw the silver mech peek out from the rock, and snarled. "Starscream." He growled under his breath. Blasts began to go into Starscreams direction, and the rogue 'Con let out a girlish shriek as several boulders almost hit him, hiding back behind the rock. Sophie flung herself onto Ironhides leg, only to be flung off. Knocking into Miko, who fell over at the impact, Sophie looked at Ironhide with with a grouchy look. What was his problem? Not even when she had been afriad of the thunder storm he had showed the least bit of kindness! Some people were just plain out rude she guessed. Looking over, she saw Ratchet quickly puncturing his blade into the stomach of a Seeker, looking around wildly to have his optics lay upon Sophie. He was at first shocked, then gave a very angry look. Sophie cowered away, crawling off of the fallen Miko.

Ironhide stopped shooting in Starscream's direction for a moment, raising his blasters in the air. "Starscream! Come out and fight me like a mech, you coward!" Ironhide roared. They were a feirce growl from behind the rock, and Starscreams head poked out once more. He opened his mouth to speak, but all his words came out as a squeak as Ironhide started shooting again. But he had no time to hide back behind the rock as one of Ironhides blasts hit his abdomen, sending him hurtling backwards into the the next rock. Ironhides foot barely missed Miko and Sophie as he ran towards Starscream, leaving the two Humans. They sudden helplessness did not go unnoticed. Several drones looked their way, most getting a bit too close for comfort. Miko grabbed Sophies hand tightly as a Seeker walked up to them, transforming his servo into a blaster, aiming at them. Sophie could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she felt the blaster's heat as it readied for fire. A battle cry erupted from their left, and both Humans heads turned to see Optimus, blades out, jumping out from no where, his landing seeming to be the Seeker. Miko watched in amazement as he stuck his blade out underneath him, the weapon slicing the 'Cons head in half. Energon spilled out from it's optics as it fell backwards, and Optimus landed neatly on the ground, looking at the two Humans with relief in his optics. He watched as the others fought on, and turned his head to see Ironhide walking towards Starscream, who had a large gash in his stomach.

Neither Miko nor Sophie was prepared for Optimus to quickly snatch them up, running towards Ironhide. He couldn't just leave them there, waiting for the next Seeker or Vehicon to come up and put a blaster in their faces. Miko in one servo, Sophie in the other, Optimus quickly caught up to Ironhide, who was only a few feet away from Starscream, who's servo cupped his wound as it gushed with spilled energon. Setting the two Humans down on the ground, Optimus looked to Ironhide as he scowled at Starscream. "Pathetic." Ironhide said with extreme disgust. Optimus watched as Ironhide turned his servo into a cannon, and pointed it to Starscreams head, the Seeker letting out a frightened whine. "Now. Time to finish some unfinished business." Ironhide was just about to hit Starscreams head when Optimus pushed his cannon away from Starscream, causing Ironhide's blast to miss. The weapons specialists swerved his helm towards Optimus, optics full of rage and hate. "What was that for?" Ironhide snapped, pulling his arm away from Optimus' grasp. "I almost had him!" Starscream looked up to the two, optics fading in and out from the pain. Sophie and Miko jumped back as Ironhide stomped his foot near them, causing a small ripple of the earth beneath them. Optimus looked to Ironhide with stern optics.

"Ironhide, Starscream is no threat. Not now at the moment. He has been grounded, his T-Cog removed by Humans." Ironhide had no sign of surprise or sympathy on his faceplate as he looked at Optimus with a cold expression. Sophie could see in the corner of her eye Starscream let out a raspy breath, and gently touch the place where is T-Cog was supposed to be. "Besides, Starscream is not a Decepticon anymore. We have no business with him." Optimus said. Ironhide just stared at Optimus, optics narrowed into a chilling glare. He looked to Starscream, who was slowly cowering away. Ironhide quickly brought up his cannon arm, now instead of aiming for Starscreams head, he aimed for his spark. Ironhide did not shoot immediately though, instead looked to Optimus. The two looked at each other for a moment, in a silent conversation. Optimus stood rigid, optics widened a fraction, shock on his faceplate. Ironhide never disobeyed an order, unless under the right circumstances. But this...this is not what Optimus would call a, 'right circumstance'. He was killing a mech that had done him no wrong, that he hadn't seen in eons. Arcee had the right to want to kill him because he had offlined Cliffjumper, Bumblebee had the right to turn him into scrap for almost frying his own T-Cog, and Optimus was sure they were many more who had such right at killing the mech. But Ironhide had no right, not yet at least.

"So your going to let him live? Let him go back to the other Decepticons and tell them that an Autobot, you, of all of them, had let him live because he hadn't been one of them? Then all of them will go rogue, and we'll let them live, go all soft on them because we think they've 'changed' into a better person, let them in on our secrets." Ironhide hissed. "He doesn't deserve a second chance. Or is this his second chance? You've probably given him even more than that!" Ironhide's icy glare turned into blazing hatred. Not at Optimus. At Starscream. "Don't you remember what Cliffjumper used to say? He said to leave vermin still crawling after a battle." Ironhide snapped his head towards Starscream, cannon readying itself. "And I'm following his saying." Ironhides voice was low and full of darkness. Optimus knew why he wanted to kill Starscream now. Arcee must have told him who killed Cliffjumper. And Ironhide was out for revenge for his fallen friend. Like Arcee, he wanted to get back at those who had hurt someone dear to them. Optimus had not let Arcee kill Arachnid, Bumblebee had stopped her from killing off Starscream too. But Ironhide wasn't Arcee. He saw no fault in killing off Starscream, here and now. He did not see that it would change nothing. If he killed Starscream, Cliffjumper would not just magically appear out of no where because his murderer was dead. No, revenge did nothing. It only brought upon more death.

Optimus stopped his thinking for a moment, and reached out to stop Ironhide. But he wasn't the only thing preventing him from shooting Starscream. Sophie stood, feet apart, arms outstretched, between Ironhide's gun, and Starscream. The heat of the cannon heated her flesh, but she stood as firm as a stone, no fear on her face. Starscream was helpless, hurt. She couldn't let Ironhide kill him. There had been enough of that already. She knew from what she had heard that Starscream could not defend himself. Sure, if he was armed, then she would allow Ironhide to hurt him, on the right terms. But like Optimus, she knew that this was not right. She had stopped Ratchet from killing off Arachnid, although she had hurt her, she could stop Ironhide from killing Starscream. But as she stood there, everyone staring at her with a bewildered look, she felt new feelings flutter inside her stomach. They were no butterflies in her stomach, they were more like spiders, pinching at the fleshy outline of her stomach. But she shook them off, trying to ignore their pinches. She would stand strong, she would not let Ironhide kill Starscream. Looking Ironhide straight in the eye, she shook her head firmly. "No." They locked eyes for a moment, a war battling in their silent stares. Ironhide's optics, so blue and deep like a stormy ocean, were full of hatred, full of long lived pain. Sophie's eyes, green like a meadow of daises and dandelions, were full of sadness, filled with innocence and love.

Ironhide withdrew his cannon slowly, turned around, and walked away. Optimus could see Miko following him, hanging at his pedes, though for once she was silent. Optimus looked to Sophie, who seemed to have lost her sudden burst of courage, looked up to Optimus, who's optics were wide with surprise. She had stopped Ironhide. Many had tried, thousands had failed. And millions were never heard from again. And yet, she had stopped him. Optimus could barely control Ironhide most of the time, and with one simple, yet meaningful action, had controlled him. Stubborn, yet kind and curious. Now Optimus knew that this truly was the perfect child for Ratchet. Optimus bent down on one knee, putting out his servo for Sophie. She gently climbed on, and Optimus looked down at her for a moment. "Lets' go." Optimus had only started to walk away when they heard a painful, shocked gasp from behind him.

"You can't just leave me like this!" Starscream howled. Optimus looked over at the silver, 'used-to-be' Decepticon.

"I will fetch Ratchet for you." Optimus said flatly. He slowly walked back to the others, and saw Ironhide leaning against a large rock, optics looking at the ground. Bulkhead was scolding Miko for coming along, though she didn't really seem to car, as Ratchet passed them, coming up to Optimus. The large red and blue mech held out his servo to Ratchet, Sophie calmly sitting on it. "You have a very brave one there Ratchet." Optimus commented as Sophie slid off his servo and into Ratchets. The medic looked up at him with a confused stare, but just as he was about to question him with that, but Optimus continued. "Ratchet, do you have your medical kit with you?" Ratchet nodded. "Good. Starscream needs assistance." Optimus could hear Ratchet growl with frustration, and let out a slight chuckle. Starscream was one of Ratchets least favorite patients. He Seeker complained about how his servo's were too cold, how he was being too rough, how he wasn't gentl enough, why it was hurting so much, and usually questioned Ratchets medical training. And usually Ratchet knocked him out so he could work peacefully.

Starscream waited impatiently, as usual, and Ratchet brought out his medical kit from his subspace, going through the tools he would need. And just as Ratchet set out to work, the whining began. "Is this going to take long? Ow! That hurts! Who taught you how to patch up a wound, _Megatron_? Ouch! Don't be so rough! No, this is where it really hurts! _OW_! I didn't say you could touch it right there! Aren't you supposed to be helping me instead of hurting me?" Starscream rambled on and on, and Ratchet tried to fix up the wound as fast as he could. How did Megatron deal with such an annoying second in command? Oh, that's right. He didn't. Not now at least. But Ratchet knew that if Starscream went on like this to Megatron, the mech would simply beat him senseless. Ratchet had seen the wounds on some of the Vehicons and Seekers before they even touched them. They knew that the Decepticons fought amongst their ranks, but Ratchet could tell that other Vehicons had not delivered such blows. One Vehicons entire left side of his faceplate had been missing! Knock Out had some how managed to fix it, but it still left with with half a face. Scars on their bodies, dents on their helms. Megatron was not taking good care of his troops. The damage he inflicted just helped the Autobots to beat them, really.

Ratchet, seeing that what he had done was as good as it was going to get for Starscream, packed up his medical supplies, and walked away. Optimus followed behind him, neither looking back as Starscream slowly got to his feet, and fled the site. They were both silent as they headed back towards the others, and Optimus was surprised that Ratchet had not yet questioned Optimus' comment about Sophie's bravery. Maybe he already knew. Or maybe he simply did not want to know. So many things had happened to her, all of which caused Ratchet great pain. Possibly, just for once, Ratchet hoped he could be left out of something. Optimus understood this, and did not say anything about it. Everyone was silent as they stopped in front of them, waiting for some kind of order. Optimus looked at them all for a moment, but took one long moment to look at Ironhide. The mech was still fuming, Optimus could see that just by glancing at him. But the black mech was not looking at Optimus. He was glaring at Sophie. But she didn't seem to notice as she quietly whispered something to Miko, the Humans saying something none of them could hear into each others ears. Optimus looked away, touching the side of his helm with a digit. "Optimus requesting ground bridge." He said through the comm. His request was answered by a swirling tunnel of green, blue, and purple. Ironhide was the first to stomp through, Arcee followed, gracefully stepping through the tunnel of light. Bulkhead clomped on behind him, Miko on his shoulder, and Prowl trailed behind, his steps not clumsy nor too graceful. Ratchet and Optimus fell into the caboose of them, Sophie sitting calmly on Ratchets servo.

Though Ratchet wished he had both servo's so he could cover his ears for what his audio receptors met when he entered the Base. Miko was standing next to Jack, an angry look on both of the teens faces. "Miko, how could you just leave like that? With Sophie!" Jack snapped.

Miko looked at him with a thin glare. "First of all, how could I not leave? It was the perfect opportunity! And second of all, I didn't bring her along! She followed me through!" Miko turned away from Jack, crossing her arms over her chest. "Probably because she knew how to have fun." She mumbled under her breath.

But it did not go unheard by Jack. "_Fun_? Miko, you two could have died! You think that's fun Miko?" Jack growled. "The 'Bots risking their lives, almost dying everyday, that sounds like loads of fun! It only would to you!" Jack shoved Miko forwards. "Why do you have to be so immature!"

Miko swerved her head towards Jack, fury in her eyes. "I never said that the 'Bots risking their lives was fun!" She snarled, putting her foot down in frustration. "And I might be immature, but at least I don't act like Mr. Perfect all the time! Look at me, I'm Jack! I'm such a goodie two-shoes who does whatever my mommy tells me!" She mocked.

Jack was surprised for a moment, but quickly went from surprised to angry in a split second. "Oh, and you act like your so much better! And so what if I do what I'm told? At least I don't go all crazy and get someone hurt! Look at what you did the last time you didn't do what you were supposed to! We all almost died in those caves! And if we didn't die of suffocation, we would have died because Megatron and Starscream were there as well!" Jack had now raised his voice even higher. "I was the one who managed to help everyone get out alive!"

"With the help of Arcee!" Miko added. "You act like your all that! But guess what. Your _not_! Just because you got picked to go to Cybertron doesn't mean you know everything Jack! But here you are, acting like a little smarty-pants! Like you know what to do, and have to be so bossy and tell everyone what they're doing wrong!" She snarled. "It's not my fault the caves collasped, but you act like I magically made them! And don't act like I wasn't the only one who wanted to go in! I heard you beg Arcee so you could go in as well!"

Jack went up to her face, so they were nose to nose. "I didn't beg! And just because I got to go to Cybertron doesn't mean I think I know everything! It just shows how mature I am compared to you!" Bulkhead and Arcee looked at eachother with concern. This was getting a bit out of hand. Yes, Jack and Miko would bicker after events such as this one, but this was taking a lot longer than usual. Bulkhead reached out his servo, seperating the two teens, who snarled at one another. Miko didn't snarl at Bulkhead, only shot him a quick glare before storming off into the hallways. Jack turned the other way, heading for the exit. Arcee walked along side him, silently changing into her alt-mode. Jack always went out for a ride to cool himself off after one of these types of things. Two fighting Humans gone, one fuming mech left. Ironhide had disappeared into the hallways, but almost everyone knew he had gone into the training room. Bulkhead sighed heavily, walking off into the halls to find Miko and calm her down with some dune-bashing. So it was Prowl, Optimus, Ratchet, and Sophie. A revv of an engine erupted from the entrance to Base, alerting the others. Well, make that Prowl, Optimus, Ratchet, Sophie, _and _Bumblebee. The yellow scout drove into Base, with something surprising strapped onto his form.

Energon.

Prowl carefully relieved Bumblebee of the weight, allowing him to transform. Optimus nodded to him. "Good work Bumblebee." The small mech gave what looked like a smile to Optimus, and walked over to Raf, who waited for him anxiously. Prowl gave Optimus a curious stare, and Optimus knew exactly what he wanted to ask. "Ironhide had snuck into one of the Decepticon energon mines when he was out of Base. He had been caught doing it, and of course, that is why he had been chased down by the Vehicons and Seekers. While we fought, I directed Bumblebee to go out and retrieve as much energon as he could from the site." Optimus explained. Prowl simply nodded as he carried away the energon to where ever they put it. Optimus turned to see Ratchet working at something on a data pad, Sophie leaning over his shoulder, eyes wide with interest. It must have been something other than his work, otherwise Sophie would have had less interest in it. Ratchet's mouth moved as words formed onto his lips, though Optimus could not hear what he was saying. Ratchet pointed to something on the data pad, and Sophie looked between him and the item Ratchet had shown her. But as Optimus watched, his thoughts strayed from what Ratchet was showing her. Like Miko and Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Rafeal, Jack and Arcee, the two were a perfect match. Jack was serious and quite grown up, a perfect partner for Arcee. Miko was silly, liked to break things, and was extremely loud, a perfect mini-wrecker buddy for Bulkhead. Raf was quiet, liked to race his little cars, and was young, a perfect friend for Bumblebee. Sophie, who at first seemed like the opposite to Ratchet completely with her kindness, her endless curiousity, her many questions, had turned out to be the perfect child for Ratchet. Not good, not great. Perfect.

Suddenly Miko appeared from the hallway, no longer huffing about the fight that had taken place only five minutes ago. Instead of her stomping rage, it had been replaced by joyful bounces as Bulkhead followed behind her. Miko ran towards the entrance, a broad smile on her face. "Come on 'Bulk! The dune-bashing awaits!" She said dramatically. Bulkhead chuckled, and transformed down into the big, bulky green car that was his alt mode, and drove out of Base. Two Humans gone, two to go. Wait, make that one to go. Raf's cellphone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly got it out, flipping it open.

"Hello?" He said into the small device. "Oh, hi Mama. No, I'm with some friends. Just a few more minutes? Please?" Raf sighed sadly, nodding. "Okay, I'm going." Closing his phone, Raf looked to Bumblebee sadly. "Sorry 'Bee, no racing today." Bumblebee hunched over slightly, letting out a small, sad whining sound. Raf simply shrugged. "It's okay, we can race tomorrow." Bumblebee walked over to the entrance to Base as Raf walked down the metal stairs. Once the boy had gotten down to Bumblebee, he had already transformed into his muscle car self. Raf got in, and they drove out of Base. Sophie watched him leave, and looked back to the data pad. Several strange symbols showed up, and Ratchet pointed to them with a digit.

"These are Cybertronian letters. My language." He explained. "That is the letter A, B, and C." Ratchet stopped himself for a moment before he went on. She hadn't even learned Human letters, and yet now he was teaching her Cybertronian ones. Was it right for her to learn such things from his culture before she started to learn about her own? Well, she was his child. And the sooner she learned this, the better. Ratchet smiled at her, and pointed to the next pair of symbols. "These are the letters D, E, and F." Sophie looked at them for a moment, blinked, and smiled at Ratchet, looking back down at the strange markings. Ratchet went through the rest of the letters, and Sophie memorized them very quickly. But as he got to the end of the Cybertronian alphabet, he paused. His servo hovered over the data pad for a moment, and he looked at it with a thoughtful stare. His digits skimmed over it, tapping it several times. The screen suddenly popped up with several markings, and Sophie narrowed her eyes at them. "Can you read what that says?" Ratchet questioned, voice oddly soft. Sophie looked at it for a second more, looked to Ratchet, and shook her head. Ratchet put the data pad down on a small slab of metal, and plucked Sophie off of his shoulder and onto his servo's.

"I love you."

Sophie looked at Ratchet for a moment, heat almost stopping. She had only said that to him once, but he ahd never returned the offering. He...loved her. Ratchet smiled down at her, kindness in his optics. Heart filled with joy, she hugged him, or put her arms around his chest as far as they would go. A large smile on her own face, she nuzzled into Ratchets armour.

"I love you too Watchet."

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><p><strong>Sorry I got all mushy at the end guys. I just couldn't help myself! I would just like to inform you guys, that the next few chapters are going to be a little more relaxed, okay? There will be action sometime soon, just not, you know, soon I guess :P But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! <strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**Merchant Navy Cadet, you sly dog you! Ladies and Gentleman, please give a big hand to the 200th reviewer, Merchant Navy! Geez, 3 in a row! Come on guys, he needs some competition here! The award for the 200th reviewer, is your very own, one of a kind, Joseph Santos voodoo doll! You can poke him, scratch him, rip him apart, and feed him to the animals you keep! (Warning, Joseph is not to be used as a toy. He deserves no happiness like that. At all. Unless you play torture. That would be fine) Enjoy this limited edition voodoo doll!**

**P.S. If you want, I could kidnap the real one for you O_O I will warn you, stuffing doesn't come out if you poke him with a pin. I already tried.**

**To my anonymous reviewer moony, I would like to thank you for the suggestions, and the criticism. If that's what it was...I think...I'm not good with this stuff...**

**But sorry for the big paragraphs :P I have an Apple and a Netbook, and on the Apple they look so small, yet on the Netbook they look so big! It gets confusing!**

**But, creative criticism is always welcomed and enjoyed! Flames will be used to make smores! Haha, I blew up a marshmellow in my microwave XD**

* * *

><p>Arcee was quite surprised. Everything was as it should be, the normal type of day on Base. Well, if you counted them as 'normal'. Miko was being extremely loud, playing her guitar on full blast. Jack was being as quiet as usual, looking over a textbook for the next big test they had, and Raf was watching the Saturday cartoons. That covered the Humans. Bulkhead was jamming out as well, humming rather loudly to the music Miko was playing, while he strummed his own air guitar. Bumblebee was, of course, watching the cartoons with Raf. For being thousands of years old, the scout acted like such a sparkling. Ironhide was happily polishing his cannon on a metal bench he had built a day ago, and Optimus and Prowl were taking the morning patrol. Everything was normal, so why would Arcee be so surprised by the day? Well, the only problem she had, was Ratchet. He was the thing that put her off. He was working, as usual, and grumpy, as usual, but something was just...off. Something was missing, and she couldn't exactly tell what. There was no small noises, no excited chirps, no constant questions of what was what. No one to scamper across his feet. And she knew what it was, <em>who <em>it was. Sophie. She wasn't there, for once. Looking around, Arcee actually didn't see her anywhere. Not near Miko, not near Bulkhead, not near Ironhide, not near Bumblebee, not near Raf, not near Jack, not near Ratchet, and well, not near anyone. Walking up to Ratchet, she tapped his shoulder. The medics head turned to stare at her with his usual scowl. Arcee crossed her arms. "Where's Sophie?" She questioned.

"Couldn't wake her up." Ratchet grunted. "Actually, she wouldn't even get up." He added, going back to his work. Arcee blinked at him, and before she could question why he didn't even try to get her up, a loud sniffling noise echoed from the hallway. Turning around, Arcee saw Sophie. But this wasn't the usual peppy Sophie she saw everyday, this Sophie looked like she had crawled out from under a rock. Her golden hair was everywhere, a messy bed-head hair style, large bags under her eyes, no excited twinkle in them at all. Her arms drooped towards the ground, and she was ghostly white. Overall, she looked about ready to drop dead. Snot dribbled away from her nostril, but she sniffled again to bring it back up. She walked slower than a zombie towards Ratchet, and when she got to his feet, she dropped down onto her knees, and leaned against his foot. Ratchet looked down, and was shocked by her appearance. "Sophie, you look awful!" He said, and got off his work stool to bend down.

Sophie sniffed up some more snot. "I don't feel good Watchet." She moaned. "My tummy feels weird and my head hurts, and my nose is all stuffed up." Arcee watched her, thinking. Did Humans normally get like this? She'd never seen Jack, or any other Human, act in such a strange way. Wait, she'd heard about this kind of stuff before. June always went on and on about how patients complained about how their heads hurt, or how their stomachs ached. She had a word for it...what was it again? It started with an S, she knew that. But what was it? It was at the tip of her tongue...

"You're sick." Ratchet said, and Arcee caught the hint of concern in his voice as he stood up, Sophie now in his servo. She didn't even flinch as he pressed his digit against her forehead, and his optics widened. "Very sick. Temperatures over a hundred." He stated. Walking past Arcee, he went to the hallway, and turned into his quarters. Looking around, his optics narrowed at his berth. It was a flat surface, too hard for a Human back. It was made of metal, so it would provide no warmth if she needed it. No, it just wouldn't do for a sick Human. Walking out of his quarters, he looked around at the rest. Arcees? No, she would likely kill him if he went in. Bulkheads? No, the berth was far too large, and the clumsy oaf would possibly sit on her. Optimus'? No, too many heavy objects, too big of a berth. It was strange, Optimus was quite the pack rat, with all his medals and small knick-knacks and the like. So it was narrowed down to Prowl, Ironhide, and Bumblebee's berths. Prowl? Hmm...Maybe. Ironhide? _No_. Never in a million years would Ratchet let Sophie sleep somewhere with that many weapons. Explosives, grenades, guns, cannon, _laser _cannons. The whole collection. So it was decided. Bumblebees berth would be used.

Ratchet was sure the scout wouldn't mind. He loved Sophie, a lot actually. But it didn't surprise Ratchet that they had taken to eachother so well. Bumblebee had always been good with the younger ones, Cybertronian or Human. Nodding to himself, Ratchet entered Bumblebees room, and was quiet surprised. It looked like a...Humans quarters. Large posters of cars adorned the walls, a metal chair, and Ratchet knowingly knew that Bumblebee had made it himself by the way it's slightly out of place legs and curved seat. But the most surprising was his berth. Ratchet had no idea how Bumblebee managed to do this, but on the metal slate that once was a berth, was filled with pillows. All different colors, shapes, and sizes. Where exactly Bumblebee had gotten so many pillows, and how he managed to not squish them during his sleep, Ratchet would never know, and frankly, he didn't want to know. Walking up to the fluffy, feather filled berth, Ratchet carefully set Sophie down. As he did, he looked at her for a moment as she laid on the mound of pillows. And suddenly, she was engulfed by them. Ratchet panicked, looking at the place where she had just been with shock. "Sophie?" He called down into the mound.

With a small grunt, a hand popped out from beneath a purple pillow, throwing it to the side. "I'm here!" Her muffled voice said. Ratchet chuckled, and brushed back the pillows to reveal Sophie. She smiled weakly, just before sneezing loudly. Getting snot all over Ratchets servo. The medic brought his servo towards his face, nearly purging as he saw the slimy green substance dangling off the gray metal. "Sorry." Sophie said innocently before sniffling. Ratchet sighed, flicking the disgusting stuff off. He would have to disinfect himself later. Turning towards the door, Ratchet began to walk away. Sophie looked at him with a worried expression. "Watchet, where 'ya going?" She questioned.

Ratchet turned towards her, blinking. "Sophie, I can't stay here with you. I have to do work." He explained. "But call me if you need anything, alright?' Sophie nodded. "And _stay put_." Ratchet emphasized "stay put" for a reason. Whenever he left Sophie somewhere alone, or even with a Human or 'Bot, she tended to wander off. Ratchet usually tore the whole Base apart looking for her, and after about several minutes of searching, she would appear on her on. Ratchet didn't know where she exactly went during these times, but he wished he knew where. Once he spent an entire hour looking for her, to find she was sitting there right next to Bulkhead, who had no idea how she even got there without him noticing, or even his scanners going off. She was like a child Houdini. Sophie smiled at that, and nodded. She would probably go to amble around the Base, take a nice stroll through the halls, the usual. Ratchet never really yelled at her, just said to never do it again, or he would have a spark attack the next time. He never did have a spark attack, so she assumed it was never going to happen.

Ratchet walked out of the room, and Sophie looked around. She was so tired, her head felt like someone was pounding it against a wall, her limbs felt like jelly, her stomach felt like it was being stabbed, and she was as tired as a person who hadn't slept for a month straight. Okay, maybe she wasn't going to walking. Sprawling herself out on the mound of pillows. She sighed. Being sick sucked. _Really _bad. There was nothing to do, no one to talk to, nothing to look at. Well, there were tons of things to look at, but she didn't feel like staring at anything for the moment. If she had a question, she couldn't call Ratchet. He'd probably get annoyed or something. She would probably have to just sit here, all alone, so bored, nothing to do.

This, was probably going to be the _longest _day of her entire life.

**XXX**

"_Watchet_!"

Ratchet sighed with great annoyance. Sophie was being an _extreme _pain in the aft. He thought that she would just sleep or something like a normal Human, she seemed pretty tired when he had brought her to Bumblebee's room. But _no_. She wasn't sleeping, or at least not all the time, but instead, was complaining. She whined to him for food, for a tissue, to help her get to the bathroom, to throw away those tissues, and Ratchet had already disinfected himself about twenty times by now. If she were less demanding, then yes, Ratchet would be much less annoyed. But one thing made him want to blow a fuse.

_She. Wouldn't. Shut. Up._

Every single second, there would be a new whine, a new complaint. Ratchet knew she was sick, but she wasn't sick enough to be whining about these things. If a mech had been doing this, they would have already been knocked out cold by now. But he couldn't do anything like that. He just hoped, no, _wished _she would become a little more sick and be too tired to keep calling him. It was just so annoying. Ratchet sighed irritably, stomping on over into the hall and away from his work. Growling, he entered Bumblebee's quarters where Sophie lay on the thousands of pillows, sneezing and sniffling and coughing. He didn't pretend to be calm, he knew she knew he was annoyed. But her sickness made her less happy as well. Him pretending to be calm didn't really help either, and he wasn't going to give her special treatment because she was young and his sparkling. He would treat her like any other patient. With no respect or kindness whatsoever. No one, and he meant _no one, _would get his tender side if they acted like this. They would get his, 'I-don't-give-a-frag-about-your-problems' side. Ratchet grinded his metal teeth together. "What is it this time Sophie?" He said through clenched metal teeth.

"I'm thirsty." She said in a raspy, yet demanding voice.

Ratchet kept back a growl, and walked out of the room. Going back into the rec room, he carefully picked up a small cup filled to the top with water between his digits. He had been prepared, he knew if he wasn't he would be constantly scrambling all over the place. Stomping back over to Sophie, he roughly handed her the cup, which she took between her hands. "There. Are you good now?" Sophie nodded vaguely, and Ratchet let out a sigh of relief and annoyance, walking out of the room. He felt like a slave, though not a very submissive one. As he walked back into the rec room, he saw Arcee standing there with a large smirk. Ratchet said nothing, just went towards the control panel, looking over things. The others weren't here, as they were this morning. Jack had said they had a test tomorrow, 'final exams' he called them, and had dragged Miko back with him. Raf had gone as well, and all the others were out. But, of course, Arcee just had to stay to give him that little smirk. "What do you want Arcee?" Ratchet's voice clearly showed extreme annoyance and angriness.

He felt a servo gently lay itself on his shoulder plate, and he looked over his shoulder. "Ratchet, this is really funny to watch." She said with a little chuckle. Ratchet growled lowly, but hid it with a snort. "But really 'Ratch, you're a really good parent." Ratchet froze up immediatley. Arcee never complimented him. _Ever_.

"Oh really?" He grumbled. "That's not what-"

"Ratchet, I once had a sparkling myself."

The medic became rigid, optics wide open as they stared blankly at the screens. Arcee...had had a sparkling? When had this happened? With who exactly? "He wasn't much older than Sophie." Arcee said. "He was just a little sparkling...he had Tailgates optics..." Ratchet twitched slightly. Tailgate? But...but they had just been partners! That's what she had told them! Not Sparkmates! Is that why she wanted to kill Arachnid so much? But...just...no..."It was when I went out on that mission with him...when Arachnid captured us..." Her voice leaked hatred for the name, and Ratchet felt his own rage at the name of the evil femme. "When she killed him...I didn't know what to do. 'Bee and 'Cliff tried to get me to a medical facility, but I just told them I wanted to go home. I knew Arachnid knew about him...Firespark..." Arcee's voice was suddenly sad and quiet, Ratchet had never heard her talk in such a way. Ratchet could already guess what happened to the sparkling. "But when I got back to our apartment...I was too late..." She was silent for a moment. "I guess that's why...I'm protective over Jack I guess...reminds me of him..."

Ratchet finally turned around. Arcee had folded her arms loosely over her chest, and lubricants were brimming in her optics. "Arcee...I..." Ratchet didn't know what to say. He'd treated femmes who lost their sparklings, and back then it was worse. They would have dreams of their sparklings, wake up, and try to go find them. They would scream at Ratchet when he restrained them, telling them their sparklings were dead. They would screech at him, tell him that they were at home, waiting for their mother to come. No femme could ever get over something like this, could never forget. "I'm...I'm so sorry..." Ratchet finally managed to say, sympathy in his optics.

Arcee turned away, walked towards the exit. "Don't be." She stopped at the entrance to the exit. In a whisper, Ratchet managed to hear her last words before she transformed and left. "He's with Primus now..."

Ratchet stood there, simply stood there, watching the exit. Arcee...had opened up to him. She had not done so to anyone besides Jack. This was a real milestone here. So Tailgate had been her Sparkmate, and they had had a sparkling, Firespark. So what was Cliffjumper? He had always seen them a bit playful with eachother, but he never really though they had a thing for eachother. Maybe they had, maybe they hadn't. Ratchet would never know. But his Spark reached out for Arcee. He couldn't imagine losing a Sparkmate and a sparkling on the same day. He could only feel a small fragment of her pain. Losing those sparklings at the bombings was hard for him, for those little ones felt like his own. How could the blue femme surive so long with such pain? He'd never known anyone who could. But Arcee was a strong femme, and like Ratchet, probably bottled up her feelings in that little room where they went. Ratchet took a step backwards, and turned towards the monitors again. Though his fingers tapped the controls, he truly didn't see what he was doing on the screens. His mind was on Arcee. And her story.

And there again, was another secret to keep.

**XXX**

Ratchet looked down at Sophie, who had finally fallen asleep. She always looked so peaceful when she slept, when she wasn't haunted by those horrid nightmares. He had cleared a space of pillows for him to sit, and gently brushed a digit on her cheek, curving it down her back. She grumbled something, and leaned into his digit. Ratchet titled his head to the side slightly, a smile crawling up on his faceplate. These were the times when he loved the little one...when he didn't have to worry about things like war and hate. He cherished these times, the times when he could openly show his affection for her. He sighed happily. "My little one..." He whispered. He wanted to call her that oh so badly. He wished he could call her his sparkling, his little one, his precious one. But he couldn't. He didn't know if the others would accept it. He didn't want to have those strange looks when he said something like that. Ratchets thoughts were interupted by the small revv of engines from the rec room. Someone was returning. Before Ratchet could get up and see who it was, he heard voices.

"Specila Agent Fowler, what is it?" Optimus' voice sounded from the hallway. Was Fowler here? Ratchet hadn't noticed. But when he heard nothing, he knew Optimus was being commed by the man. "What? Agent Fowler, that is...but..." Optimus' usual calm tone was gone, now a very stressed down laced in the baritone voice. "She is perfectly fine Agent Fowler. Yes. You have? Oh..." His voice went down, and silence was only heard. "So soon? I do not know how he will react to this." Ratchet carefully got up, quietly walking towards the doorway. "Alright. Understood."

Ratchet walked down the hallway, poking his head out. Optimus ran a servo over his helm, shaking his head. "Optimus?" Ratchet called, walking out of the hallway. The red and blue mech looked over at him with surprise, but that surprise soon turned to sadness, and he looked away. "Optimus, I heard your conversation with Agent Fowler." Ratchet said, walking towards Optimus, who stood still. Ratchet looked at his leader with concern. "Optimus?" The large mech remained silent, looking towards the ground. Slowly, Optimus looked to Ratchet.

"Agent Fowler has...found a Foster home for Sophie."

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><p><strong>I know I said it was going to be relaxed, I know...I kinda lied...<strong>

**Hey...I just noticed something...I haven't done the disclaimer yet!**

**Okay...TheChippedCup owns an Autobot t-shirt, a Bumblebee action figure, a Optimus toy, a pawprint robe, tiger slippers, and a green lamp. Of course, SHE OWNS TRANSFORMERS!**

**Ratchet: What in the name of Primus are you rambling on about now Human?**

**Me: You can't talk to me like that! I own you! I OWN YOU ALL! HAHAHAHAHA!**

**Optimus: *watches me spaz out fangirl style* Ratchet, what exactly are we seeing?**

**Ratchet:...I really don't know...**

**Me: POKEMON, GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL! YEAH! I OWN YOU! HAHAHA!**

**Ratchet: *pulls out wrench* Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. **

**Me: *gulp* TheChippedCup owns nothing! I own nothing! Not even Pokemon...or the theme song...BUT I OWN MY OC'S! THOSE ARE MINE!**

**Ratchet: Oh Primus...here we go again...**


	25. Chapter 25

**Guys! I'm sooooooo sorry for being so late to update! Things have been super crazy lately, with final exams and projects and stuff. Please forgive me! And don't worry, when Summer Vacation comes 'round, the chapters will be flowing in like a river! A RIVER BABY! WOOOOOO!**

**Anyways...**

**Okay, now, I'd like to-**

**Ratchet: Ugh, again with these things?**

**Me: Let me finish! Ratchetsfangirl, Sophie will be getting better soon, and-**

**Ratchet: Thank Primus! **

**Me: Shushies! Anyway, after that _rude _interuptment, *glares at Ratchet*, and Arcee's story was kind of depressing to write. But, that story will not go unused! It will come up sooner or later, when I feel it needs to come up, and-**

**Arcee: Wait, is Ratchet going to tell everyone about it? *Points at Ratchet* You better not!**

**Ratchet: I wasn't going to! I swear! It's that Human and her keyboard!**

**Me*Grabs computer* LEAVE BESSY OUT OF THIS!**

**Ratchet: O-O...Bessy...?**

**Me: It's...It's my computers pet name!**

**Arcee: Okay...this is weird...**

**Me: Yeah...so...let's get on with the disclaimer, shall we?**

**Ratchet: That would be for the best.**

**Me: TheChippedCup owns a chipped cup, a gluestick, a computer named Bessy, a pencil sharpener, and a Little Mermaid mechanical pencil. She does own Transformers.**

**Ratchet: I thought we already went over this femme! **

**Me*Shrugs* I just couldn't help myself.**

**Ratchet*Grabs wrench* I'll give you a five second start.**

**Me*Runs for my life* OPTIMUS! HELP MEE!**

**Arcee*watches Optimus try to catch Ratchet as he chases me* TheChippedCup doesn't own Transformers. Or the Little Mermaid. She only owns her OC's.**

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><p>Ratchets spark stopped. No...no, no, no, no! Fowler couldn't have...not so soon! It had barely been two months, not even that long! She didn't need a fragging Foster Home! She had the Base! She didn't need a fragging Foster Family! She had the Autobots! She didn'tneed a fragging Foster Father! She had <em>him. <em>Ratchet hadn't thought of his conversation, or rather, argument with Fowler in a long time, he'd almost forgot about it. But now that was being made real, and he felt fright prick and nibble at him. Sophie would be taken away from him, and he wouldn't be able to see her. Sure, he could try to follow her, but the government would not allow him to do so for a long time. Ratchet shook his head in disbelief. "No..." His voice was lower than a whisper. He could barely keep himself from falling to his knees. He looked up at Optimus with heavy sadness, shaking his head still. The large mech sighed, placing a servo on Ratchets shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I managed to convince him to postpone the Foster Family taking Sophie. They will be taking her by the end of the Summer." Optimus explained, and bowed his head. "I'm sorry." He said. Ratchet tried to look him in the optics, tried to stay strong, but it just wouldn't work. Spring was barely beginning, and though Summer lasted for several months, it didn't seem like that long to Ratchet. A few months were like a blink of an optic to Cybertronians. And he didn't just want to spend a few months with her, he wanted to spend his entire life with her! Or, he wanted to be with her for her entire life time. He kept forgetting he would live for eons after she died. But he shook the thought away. He couldn't think of this right now, not now, when this was happening. The kids had said they were extremely excited about Summer, when they got off school and there was no work for them to do. Ratchet had been extremely frightened by such a thing. Humans at the Base. All the time. It sounded like an absolute nightmare. But now, he was absolutely dreading the long holiday. He sighed. If this was it, if the Humans were truly going to take her away, then he would have to try make the best of his time with Sophie. He would start right now!

A sneeze erupted from the hallway, and a sniffly "Sorry!" followed it.

Well, he would start after her sickness.

**XXX**

Three more days and three billion more complaints, and Sophie was skipping around Base, feeling as fresh as a daisy. And the best of all, it was a long weekend for the trio! Spring was ending, Easter coming up in a few days, and only a few more weeks of school! Perfect! The Asian girl was currently throwing unsigned tests into the air, ripping them apart and laughing like a crazy person, and the raven haired boy was watching her do so with a cocked eyebrow and a horrified expression. Raf was chatting with 'Bee about all the new remote control race cars he'd seen on commercials, and the scout listened excitedly. Bulkhead had no idea what Miko was doing, so just left it alone, not really wanting to know what she was ripping apart and threatening to set on fire. Arcee crossed her arms, watching with the same cocked optic ridge as Jack, except without the horrified expression. Ironhide was complaining about how when he was on patrol a Human canine had leaked lubricants all over his tire as Prowl vaguely listened to him, sitting around, looking a bit bored. And Optimus was checking out the monitors, as usual. All was as it should be. Except for Ratchet. He sat in the corner, servo holding up his head and elbow against his knee. He watched Sophie with a sad sigh. She was so happy, so unknowing of the horrible news. They hadn't told her, not wanting to scare her. He would tell her sooner or later, just not now, when everyone was there to hear.

But what was he to do? He wanted to make this Spring the best one in her entire life, but he didn't exactly know how. He didn't know what Humans did for Spring, he'd never thought to even bother to ask. But now that it was the only time he had with his little one, he would figure it out. What did Humans do when it was hot? Well, they changed their types of clothes. Miko no longer wore her striped purple leggings, and had exchanged her clunky rocker boots for purple sandals. Her shorts stayed the same, and so did her two shirts. Jack wore a barely sleeved gray shirt, changing his baggy pants for jeans that came up to his knees. Raf had also changed his own jeans for capris, but his usual white and orange gym shoes. Though his sweater vest was now gone, replaced by a short sleeved orange t-shirt. But what did the Humans do? Something fun and having nothing to do with school for several weeks, he knew that. As Miko screamed the word "SPRING!" after finally ripping apart the papers, Ratchet listened in on her conversation.

"Yeah 'Bulk! We'll do everything this spring! We'll go to all the concerts, and Slash Monkey's touring America this year!" Ratchet rolled his optics. He was _definitely _not doing that. He listened on. "Yeah, and we can go to the water park, and go for ice cream, but Dairy Queen is the best! Oh, and we can go to the beach! The beach is the best place ever!" Miko squealed, throwing her hands up in the air. Bulkhead cocked his head to the side, and Miko deflated a bit. "You've never been to the beach?" The burly green mech shook his head. "You guys never really get out, do you?" She teased. "But the beach is awsome! You can play frisbee, and jump in the waves. Plus, me and you can get a tan, because frankly," She looked over Bulkhead. "I think you're becoming a light green, if you know what I mean." Miko nudged him and whispered. "And we can make sand castles, and I can show off my new bathing suit!"

Hmm...All of those sounded quite fun...

Ratchet stood up, going towards the groundbridge panel. Everyone looked at him, then at eachother. Ratchet tapped several keys, stroking his chin. Bulkhead was the first to speak. "Um...'Doc 'Bot? What are you doing there?" The green mech questioned, the Humans giving one another questioning looks. Ratchet didn't answer, was thinking some more. His processer raced through several websites of beaches, and found they would need a few things to go, and a very secluded and not so often visited beach. He quickly made a list of the things they would need. Beach towels, an umbrella, a swim suit for Sophie, a tent, sunscreen, buckets, shovels, and a few fun beach items. They had the money, that was for sure. Agent Fowler had left them with an emergency credit card, and this was a definite emergency. Ratchet turned away from the panel, walking towards the exit. Bulkhead stopped him quickly, grabbing one of his shoulder plates. "Hey, Ratchet," The medic turned with a slightly blank expression towards the ex-wrecker. "If this is one of your, 'soul-searchy' things where you go out for a drive the entire day, tell me first." The wrecker said with a small smile.

Ratchet returned it with his own tiny smile, and shook his head, sweeping Bulkheads servo off his shoulder. "No, that was a one time thing. I need to go to a store." Ratchet said calmly. Bulkhead's optics widened in shock, and everyone stared at Ratchet in surprise. Ratchet never ever _ever _went somewhere that...that Human filled! He barely went out of Base, only when he was needed for battle or to pick up one of the kids from school if their guardians were out in battle. And now, out of no where, he wanted to go to a _store_? The medic, had gone completely bonkers. "I need Miko, Raf, Jack, and Sophie to assist me with this." He said as he transformed down. "Oh, and I need you to carry the rest of the Humans."

Bulkhead looked at Ratchet for a moment, and opened his mouth to speak, but was interupted by Miko, who sprinted up to her gaurdian. "Let's go 'Bulk! Rathets gotta have something big planned if he's actually going out!" Ratchet snorted at that, and Bulkhead went down into his alt mode as well, opening his door for the girl. She happily hopped on, Jack climbing in after her, and Raf following behind him. Sophie looked at them go, and looked over to Ratchet with a wide smile. She always liked riding with him. Walking over to him, Ratchet opened his car door, and she scrambled into his cab. Ratchet felt her shift around in his seats, rubbing them gently. How many more times would she be able to do this? How many more times would he be able to feel her rub his seat, to feel her small form on the leather. He held back a sigh, and rode out of Base, Bulkhead right behind him. How many more times would he be able to pull out of Base with a passenger who chatted to him about the most ridiculous things like what his favorite color was, or what My Little Pony he liked best. He would always answer for the color question, "Red", and the My Little Pony question, "The one with a tail". He never did watch her shows, but when she made him, he would blank for the entire thing.

"So Watchet, where we goin'?" Sophie questioned as she looked out the window with a smile. Ratchet remained silent, the rumble of his engine the only sound he made. "You okay Watchet?" She looked towards the dashboard. "You're never so...quiet." She hesitated with the word quiet, and Ratchet didn't know exactly why. Well, he could think of a few reasons. Quiet, was the last word anyone would use to describe him. If you looked up the word 'grumpy', one of the synonyms would be 'Ratchet'. He could be quiet, yes, but that was only when, you know, it was serious stuff that was happening. "Well, anyway, you wanna hear the story Bee Bee told me?" Before Ratchet could even answer, in which he was going to say no, she started. "So, Bee Bee was once just driving around, minding his own business, when this big band of 'Cons come up and chase him!" She said. Ratchet smiled and mentally rolled his optics. Oh yes, he'd heard this story many times before. "So Bee Bee toke off, the 'Cons on his tail! And then they started using their shooter thingies, and they went all "POW! POW, POW, POW!" She said, raising her hands in the air. "And, and then there was this giant explosion like, "KABOOM"! And then Bee Be drove them into this giant mountain thingy! And it...it was really cool to hear." She said with a large smile. Ratchet chuckled. She was a strange little one. He loved that about her.

"Oh yes, I'm sure it must have been very cool." Ratchet said. "Now, as for your question to where we are going, we are going to a store to buy things for the beach, and-"

Ratchet had barely finished his sentence as Sophie's face lit up with absolute excitement. "THE BEACH! We're going to the beach! Oh my Goodies! We're going to the beach! I love the beach! Full of the sand and ocean and stuff! We can do everything there! I once collected a bunch of seashells with my mommy and daddy! There was a big blue one, oh, and a really nice pretty pink one! You could hear the ocean in them and everything! We can build sand castles also! I bet you could build a really super duper high one! That's be _super-__uper-__duper _cool! And we can go surfing, and I've never done it before, but it sure looks fun! Though you'll have to get a really big board. And we can play in the waves, and camp out on the sand!" Sophie gasped for breath from her giant blabbering excitement, and bounced up and down in her seat. "Oh! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!" Ratchet tuned out the rest of her excited chirps through the rest of the ride, a thing he had learned to do a while ago. As they reached the store, Ratchet saw Bulkhead ride up against him, and Miko rolled down her window to wave at the ambulance. Ratchet blinked his headlights in response, and rolled down Sophie's window so the two younglings could wave to eachother excitedly.

"MIKO!" Sophie cried towards the green car. "Ratchet's taking us to the beach!"

And then, Miko totally flipped out.

Miko looked at Sophie for about a second before jumping out the window of the car. Jumping out of a moving vehicle? That was a check on the 'life accomplishment' list. Miko sprinted towards Ratchet, who had come to an immediate stop when Miko had thrown herself out of Bulkhead. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Miko cried in excitement. "I love the beach! In Japan, there was a bunch of beaches, but they weren't all very nice though. Oh my God, could you bridge us to Hawaii? That would be so sick!" Almost everyone in the parking lot was staring at Miko as though she had just gone totally insane. Well, who could blame them? She'd just jumped out of a window and was talking non-stop to a four year old in an ambulance. Bulkhead stopped in his tires, and Jack got out of the car by opening the door, stomping over towards Miko with an aggrivated expression. The things he had to put up with. He stopped Miko in mid-sentence by grabbing her ear. He pulled her back to the car like a mother who was pulling her wailing child out a toy store. But Miko wasn't wailing. She was complaining. "God Jack! Ow! Hey, don't pull so hard! I just wanted to-_OW! _What the heck Jack?" Miko snarled.

Jack kept his annoyed expression as he forced Miko back into the car, the window immediatley rolling up and the lock clicking shut. Jack grumbled something as he jumped back in the car. Bulkhead took a few moment to regain himsel before going to find a suitable parking spot and probably scolding Miko at the same time. Ratchet could only chuckle. "Sophie, promise me you'll never be that crazy." Ratchet said. If he did somehow get to keep her, although unlikely, he didn't want to deal with a crazed teenager.

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest with a mischevious smile. "I can't make any promises." Ratchet sighed. Now he was a bit glad he wouldn't be there for her teenage years. Parking next to Bulkhead, where he could see Miko and Jack bickering with eachother like an old couple, he allowed Sophie to hop out of his cab. As the trio exited Bulkhead, Ratchet cringed at the noise that was coming out of the teenagers mouths. Raf had hurried over to Sophie to cover her ears as they said some, 'not-so-pleasant' words that she shouldn't ever hear. The boys hands remained cupped over the four year olds ears as they entered the store, where the two teenagers had stopped their fighting, Miko now pouting and Jack giving her a cold glare. Raf had uncupped his hands from her ears, looking around. He'd never seen a Target this big. Aisles and aisles of things lay ahead of them, people pushing shopping carts weaving through them, and with an experienced hand, pushed things into bags and carts. "Wow..." Sophie said quietly. If things looked big to Raf, things looked enormous to her.

Miko grabbed Jack's hand, who grabbed Rafs, who grabbed Sophies, and pulled them into the clothes aisle. She looked through the clothes, ripping them from their places and messily putting them back. Miko brushed her fingers against several shirts, making a face. "Pink. Ew. Purple. Maybe. Pink and purple. Trash." Miko brightened up almost immediately, grabbing one of the hangers. A purple, black, and green tank-top was on it, and Miko hugged the shirt. "Pit yeah!" She said, punching the air. Jack rolled his eyes at her, crossing over towards the boys aisle with Raf. They didn't need to see all this girl stuff, and Jack was tempted to cover Raf's eyes as they passed the womens underwear section. Sophie looked through the things as she tried to find at least something that was her size. Sure, Fowler had been providing her with clothes, but she never said she LIKED those clothes. Going towards clothes that were more her age, she looked through things. Okay, there was some pink, then some more pink, a nice shade of pink over there, some pinkie-pink, and wait, was that red? Nope, it was pink. Where was the purple or blue?

Grumbling to herself, she looked around some more. Didn't people realize that not all girls her age liked pink all so much. Sophie was more of a purple kind of person, maybe a nice baby blue once in a while. But she did like the princess stuff on some of the clothes, that was a nice touch. Looking over to Miko, the Asian girl looking through more clothes, she looked back to her own. She gently pulled out a t-shirt, placing it over herself. She had finally found a blue t-shirt, light blue to be correct, with white stripes on it and short sleeves. Perfect. With a smile, she placed it on the ground next to her, looking through some more clothes. Her pile on the ground grew, and a light purple shirt with flowers on it, a yellow polka-dotted top with buttons, a violet shirt with white swirly designs on the front and back, and a light green shirt with dark green splotches on it. With her arms full of clothes and hangers, she hurried to Miko, who probably had double what she had. Seeing Sophie was done with finding shirts, Miko raised an arm in the air, almost dropping all the clothes on the floor. "To the swim suits!" She cried dramatically.

Miko and Sophie weaved in an out of the aisles, looking for the swim suits. The two stopped after running around the large store for about a minute, and Sophie looked around curiously. Okay, there was a few kids toys over in the aisle to their left, and a couple CD and DVD players to their right, but where was the swim suits? Miko gasped, pointing her finger out towards the front. "THERE!" Miko shouted. Sophie looked to where her finger pointed, and perked up at what she saw. Bathing suits galore was laid out in front of them, goign from the lightest pink to a full out rainbow color. Sophie and Miko walked over to it, placing the suits on their bodies. Sophie brought out two tankini's, a red one with white marks here and there, and a light blue one with a floral design on it. Miko looked at the two, one eye closed and tongue sticking out as Sophie held them up to her. "Hmmm...The blue one." Miko said with a nod. Miko pulled out several suits of her own, a white bikini with paint splotches of green, and a tye-dye purple one.

Miko held them out to Sophie, and the young girl tapped her chin in thought. After about five seconds, maybe even less, of thinking, Sophie pointed to the splotched green one. Miko nodded hapily along, placing it in the bundle of clothes on the floor next to them. Miko and Sophie each took their fair share of the pile in their arms when they were done, and began to walk down the aisles, not really knowing where to go.

"Hey Michelle!"

Miko froze at the voice, her features turning down into a scowl. Though as Miko turned to see the one who had 'called' her, she kept a neutral face. "It's _Miko_." She corrected. Sierra looked a bit surprised for a moment, before giving an apologetic smile.

"Oh, sorry." She said in that, 'I'm-a-little-angel' voice that Miko loathed. She truly did hate Sierra, with all her little rock star heart. She had no idea why Jack was just _so_ in love with her, almost drooling over her. No scratch that, actually drooling over her. Miko had seen it when they were leaving school. She had been where her usual spot was as they waited for their guardians to pick them up, sitting up on the brick ledge with her sketch book and doodling away. She had looked up to see Jack leaning against the wall, a bit of drool hanging down from the corner of his mouth as he stared at Sierra as she made her way out of school. _Disgusting_. Miko didn't hate her because of that, Jack could like whoever he wanted to. She hated her because she was just so _perfect. _A cheerleader, popular, invited to every party, a very large social life. Miko hated thos people who acted like they were oh se perfect, that's usually why she hated Jack when he acted like the 'goody-two-shoes'. But he had his flaws, which made her like him most of the time. But Sierra, she had no flaws. Well, none that Miko knew of.

Miko didn't deny it, she had many flaws. She wasn't perfect, and didn't want to be. That's why she wouldn't change just so others would like her. She didn't want to be some perfect person who always did everything right, she wanted to be Miko, a person who usually did many things wrong, but while doing it, had an excellent time. She was Miko who was from Japan, who loved to rock out, who didn't care what anyone said, who had a few problems, who had gotten involved in something most couldn't even dream of because, well, she had been Miko. Reckless, careless, loud, and perky. And she was proud of who she was. But as Sierra came closer, Miko could barely keep away the scowl. She wanted to tell that girl off for getting her name wrong, but she couldn't and wouldn't. She knew that their guardians were watching them, and she would probably get another lecture from Bulkhead. Oh how she hated the lectures. Sophie though, was more ecstatic about seeing the ginger haired girl. "Hi Sierra!" Sophie said with a broad smile and a giant wave. "I didn't know you were here too! Oh, 'Jackies here as well! Did I tell you he really likes you? He say's your eyes sparkle like the stars themselves!" Sophie exclaimed.

Miko wanted to laugh and facepalm at the same time. Sierra blushed, her cheeks turning pitch red. Sophie smiled broadly, oblivious to the awkwardness of the moment. "O-Oh, Um..." Sierra began, rubbing her arm. Many boys hit on her, and usually only said, "Oh, you're so hot" or "You wanna come over to my 'crib sometime 'babe?" No one had ever said something like that, so well thought and not just something stupid like other boys. She'd never really seen anything in Jack before-Well, actually, she'd seen nothing in Jack before that interested her. But he really liked her that much? A slight pang of guilt pricked at her for all those times she had been mean to him. Almost on cue, Jack popped his head out from an aisle behind Miko, and began to walk towards them. "Oh...Jack..." Sierra said quietly, trying very hard to not blush as hard as she had before.

The raven haired boy paused, finally realizing she was there. "S-Sierra?" He stuttered. "Wha-What...uh...what are you doing here?" He questioned, rubbing the back of his head with a hand. _What are you doing here? Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Jack wanted to seriously smack his forehead repeatedly, but managed to remain calm for Sierra. And when he said 'calm', he meant totally freaking out on the inside while on the outside he was blushing madly, eyes wide as they looked to different places, and legs and arms twitching. Smooth,_ real_ smooth. Miko held her mouth in her hand, trying hard to not burst into laughter. Sophie stood, still totally oblivious to the awkwardness between the two. She rocked on her heels, waiting for the two teens to say something to eachother. But all they did was...well, all they did was stare. And stare. Maybe a little mumble. More staring. Okay, this was getting a bit boring now.

"Uh...Jack..." Sierra began looking down. "Your cousin...she, uh...she told me...about what you said." Jack's face turned pitch red, eyes widening. "That was really sweet of you, you know." She said with a small smile. Jack was frigid, still, and absolutely silent. His eye twitched slightly, but nothing else moved. Sierra opened her mouth to speak, when someone cried her name from across the store. "Um...I have to get going." She started walking off down the aisle, looking back at Jack with lightly blushing cheeks. "So...I'll see you later?" Jack barely responded, only nodded slightly. When she turned 'round the corner, Miko lost it, and burst into laughter. She pointed at Jack, then to where Sierra had left, then at Sophie, and just laughed even harder. Miko clutched her sides, and fell over on the floor, lying on her back as she rolled around.

Jack shot a look towards Sophie, who simply smiled at him. "What did you say to her?" He questioned, his blushing going down a bit now.

Sophie just shrugged. "I told her what you said. 'You eyes sparkle like the stars themselves'." She quoted. Jack slapped his palm against his forehead, leaving a red mark on his face that looked exactly like a hand. Sophie cocked her head to the side. "What?" She questioned as Jack ran away from them, going into some random aisle. Sophie looked to Miko, who was slowly calming down. "What did I say?"

Miko burst into more giggling fits, leaving Sophie extremely confused.

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><p><strong>Hello! This is the same Dom from Chapter 17...I think. =D I am going to shamelessly type an entire paragraph in my friend's fanfiction. If you haven't read it yet (which I doubt since this is chapter 25), <em>READ IT NOW!<em> I command you. I will find you if you don't. Love you, 'Chip.**

**And that was my friend :3 She's actually very nice. She also writes fanfictions as well, on Fimfiction! It's about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! It's an awsome show! Full of ponies, and friendship, and rainbows, and EPICNESS! Yeah, you should go watch it X)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Okay guys, I'm gonna make this A/N a bit long. I sent Ratchet to go find me a blue dandelion outside, so this is the only time I have without him interupting me, and I'm sure he'll be out for a while...hehehe...**

**First off...CONGRATS TO MY 250TH REVIEWER! Smile-I'mTheEndOfAllThatYouSee is the 250th reviewer! THREE CHEERS FOR SMILE! Is it okay if I call you that? Your username is a bit of a mouth full :P But anyway, Your prize for having the honor of being the 250th reviewer is...**

**A PLUSHIE SOPHIE!**

**You can hug her, play with her, BUT DON'T LET HER ANYWHERE NEAR THE JOSEPH VOODOO DOLL! Sophie also comes with a plushie Ratchet, who can play up to about fifty different phrases such as...**

**"BLASTED EARTH TECH!"**

**And...**

**"Miko! I told you not to eat that!"**

**Also, I'm sorry for being so late to update! I had a sleep away camp for a week, and then my family is starting something called "Family Sundays" where we all do something together. Last Sunday we went kayaking! :) And then I'm going places, and yeah. I'm seriously sorry for being late :( But, why I'm telling you all this is because if I'm late like this again, I don't want you all to be like...  
><strong>

**Reviewer/Random Person: WHY ISN'T THE NEW CHAPTER UP YET? I WANT IT NOW! What's gonna happen to Sophie? Why is Ratchet going all soft? WHY DOES FOWLER HAVE TO BE SO EVVVVIIIIILLLL? AAAAAAAHHHHH!**

**And then the world goes KA-BOOM!**

**Yeah...I think you get it...XD**

**Anywho...To Merchant Navy Cadet:**

**I didn't ask you to read her fic, I just told you she wrote about My Little Pony and whatever :3 If you guys want to go and read fanfictions about My Little Pony, then by all means, go ahead. I'm not forcing you to.**

**To ratchetsfangirl:**

**YEAH BUDDY! Rainbowdash quote right there! She's the best...hehehe...20% cooler...hehehe...**

**To annabellelennox:**

**As the saying goes, Silence is golden, but Duct Tape is silver X) Evilness...**

**Now, enjoy the chapter and be all happy and whatever! Get a job, cuddle a bear, ride a dog, pet a horse, talk to a lamp, hug a truck, find love, wrestle a bear, kiss a dolphin, gurgle with milk, laugh hysterically in public, dance in the rain, pretend you're a vampire in the sun, play pac-man in real life, cry in the movies, wear a bowtie, learn german, stalk a person, eat a giraffe, be a moose, have a pet rock, stick a spoon on your nose, rip a phone book in half, eat paper, and go around singing a song from a language you made up! Do something people!**

**Oh, and read fanfictions! NUMBER ONE ON THE LIST!**

**And I don't own Transformers...*cries*...**

* * *

><p>Miko, Jack, Raf, and Sophie exited the store with twelve shirts, thirteen pairs of pants, two pairs of trunks, one bikini, one tankini, twelve towels, fifteen buckets and shovels, five beach balls, four pairs of sunglasses, seven beach umbrella's, two tents, ten packets of marshmellows, seven chocolate bars, three boxes of gram-crackers, and one pack of long sticks to stick marshmellows on. They all knew that they were going to spend some time at the beach, and Miko had gotten themm all to agree to convince the 'Bots to stay at the beach for the night. Arms full of stuff, Miko, Jack, and Raf dumped their stuff into Bulkhead's trunk, Sophie throwing her things in Ratchet, much to the medics anger. He wasn't just <em>some <em>car with a normal _trunk. _He was an ambulance! He didn't even have a trunk for Primus sake! But, he didn't say a thing as Sophie hopped happily back into the seat, the seatbelt strapping over her chest as Ratchet backed out of his spot, getting out of the parking lot.

"Watchet! Guess what!"

Ratchet held back a grumble. He _hated _guessing games. No, he _loathed _them. There were millions to billions of things he could guess, and most likely all of them would be wrong. But Sophie seemed to love them, Ratchet didn't see how or why, but she did. They were just so...pointless. Well, actually, most Human games were. "What is it Sophie?" Ratchet said through the radio. The small girl simply shook her head, bouncing slightly in the seat.

"No, you gotta guess Watchet!"

Ratchet mentally rolled his optics. "Sophie, please, I'm not in the mood for this. Can you just tell me what I'm meant to guess?" Sophie's grin went down a small bit, but it didn't truly go away. He knew she never did like when he wasn't, 'in the mood', for things, and it made him feel a bit bad. But, he was a fully grown mech, respected and strong and serious. He was _not _the type to play games. That was Bumblebee. Or, of course, Bulkhead. No way Arcee, and possibly sometimes Optimus, when he wasn't saving Humanity and Earth itself. But Ratchet? _Play games_? Impossible. It was so ubsurd, it was laughable. Never in a million years. Nope, no way would he ever play a game. No way, no how, no-

"Will you guess? _Pretty please_?"

Okay, maybe just this once.

"Fine, I'll play." He grumbled, and Sophie looked at him with an excited twinkle in her eye.

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest, smiling at the dashboard. "Oh, alright. It's a person."

A person? Well, there weren't many people Ratchet knew. He knew of a boy named 'Vince', a terrible child from what he had heard from Jack, and there was another...a Human femme, from what he remembered. What was her name again? Sarah, Sally, Sandra, Susan, Sadie, Sabrina, Serena, Salena, Safari, Sailor...wait, now he was just thinking of things that started with S.

"It's...it's something with S..." Ratchet mumbled, and Sophie nodded excitedly. "Um...Sie...Sierra!"

Sophie clapped her hands rapidly, touching the dashboard with a broad smile. 'Yeah! You got it! So now that you guessed it, here's what happened." Sophie looked out the window for a moment, looking back at Bulkhead as he followed behind, watching it as though Jack were ready to pop out of the car and yell at her for telling the embarrasing story. She looked back at the dashboard with a broad smile."So, me and Miko were walkin' through the store, looking at stuff, when Sierra comes by. I know Jack likes her and all, and so I told her all this nice stuff about her that Jackie said before. Miko and Sierra got all quiet for some reason, and then Jackie came out and started actin' all weird and stuff. They all got real quiet after that, and Jackie and Sierra talked to eachother for a little while. I don't know why they didn't kiss and stuff, they didn't even kiss last time with Bee Bee around." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her small chest. Ratchet simply chuckled at this, looking silently over to Bulkhead. "Oh Watchet! Me and the others were talkin' about it and can we stay at the beach for the night?"

Well...Ratchet couldn't just say no..."Sure, yes, whatever." He said quickly. He hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake. Quickly, he flicked his vision over to Bulkhead.

He could see through the tinted windows Miko and Jack bickering about something, though it seemed Miko was winning in their little, 'conversation', and Raf was sitting next to Jack in the back, snickering about something Miko had just said. Then the two went on bickering, and Ratchet could see Bulkhead physically flinch at the volume of noise inside of him. Ratchet felt a bit bad for the green mech, but he couldn't help but mentally smiling. Bulkhead had gotten what he deserved. Just yesterday, he had broken yet _another _one of his inventions, probably the 50th this month. But this one had been extremely important. He had finished his work on getting the groundbridge to go farther into space, a miracle from Primus, and had just had one more piece to put in. He had been so happy to have it finished, and went to go tell Optimus the good news and show him the last piece being put into it's respectful slot. And then he heard the sickening crunch. He would know that crunch anywhere. It was the sound of a stupid green mech crushing one of his inventions. The finishing piece, which had taken him _a month, _to finish, had just been crushed in the servo of Bulkhead.

Of course, the big oaf had tried to apologize, but Ratchet promptly glitched, curses, Human and Cybertronian, flying out of his mouth, and some gibberish that Ratchet had just invented right there when he had run out of insults, which had taken about thrity minutes. Of course, he had said all of this in Cybertronian so none of the Humans could understand. Of course, his huge rant did not go unheard by the audio receptors of Optimus. His leader had been standing there for the whole thing, shock on his faceplate at te words coming out of Ratchets mouth. When Bumblebee came into the room, Optimus quickly covered the young scouts audio receptors, hoping that he would not hear such foul language. By the end of the day, Bumblebee was very confused, Optimus had absolutely disgusted, Ratchet had blown a fuse, and Bulkhead was in the med bay. It had not been a good day. Of course, Ratchet would make sure he paid for the rest of the inventions he had broken, but this was good for now.

_"Ratchet!" _Bulkheads voice screamed over the comm. link, almost shattering Ratchets audio receptors and causing Sophie to cup her hands over her ears. _"Miko and Jack, they're getting crazy back here! 'Ya gotta help me 'Ratch!" _The ex-wrecker pleaded, the shrieks of the two Humans in the background. Oh yes, this was going better than Ratchet had thought. Ratchet didn't answer, just kept driving. _"Ratchet, I'm serious! No Miko! Jack! I told you two to calm down! I mean-! HEY, RAF ISN'T A SHEILD MIKO!" _Ratchet snickered quietly as Bulkhead shouted through the comm., pleading the Ratchet once or twice before scolding one of the two teens about something they had just done. Of course, Sophie did find it a bit funny, but she had to stop this.

Taking in a big breath, Sophie began. "JACK AND SIERRA, SITTIN' IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-" Sophie stopped, thinking about it for a split second. "I-K-B!" The song went that way, right? Sophie could think about that in peace because Ratchet, Bulkhead, Jack, Miko, and Raf, had all gone dead silent. And suddenly laughter sounded into the radio, Jack started yelling some kind of angry gibberish, and Bulkhead, instead of trying to calm everyone down, was hysterically laughing with the rest of them. Ratchet was chuckling to himself while Sophie smiled proudly. Yeah, she was that good. Comedy: Very good. Spelling: Needed working on. Ah, she would think about spelling later. Right now, they were pulling into Base. Before Ratchet could even open his door, Miko and Jack literally jumped out of Bulkhead, yelling so loudly that Ratchet was sure that they were simply screaming instead of actually saying anything. Raf quickly got out of the car, pale as a ghost, his hair messier than usual and his glasses crooked on his face. He walked past Jack and Miko and their shrieking fest, and Ratchet was pretty sure the poor boy had gone deaf.

Sophie quickly hopped out of the car, cringing as the sound got even louder from the outside.

"GREAT, JUST GREAT!" Jack growled, stomping in front of Miko. "THE ONE TIME I SEE SIERRA OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL AND AWAY FROM MY JOB, YOU JUST HAD TO GO AND SCREW IT UP!"

Miko looked seriously offended, and pointed to herself. "_I_ screwed it up?" She jabbed her finger at Jacks chest. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SCREWED IT UP! STANDING THERE LIKE AN IDIOT! YOU MESSED IT UP ON YOUR OWN!" She shrieked.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a hard glare. "Sure I did, _Michelle_." Oh yeah, he went there. He had heard that part at least, and smiled slyly.

Bulkhead took a few steps back, knowing well what was going to happen. Ratchet quickly scooped up Sophie in his servo as Raf ran to find cover. Miko paused for a second, just one second. And suddenly, the bomb went off. Her face went pitch red, and her hands curled into fists, her arms slammed against her sides. Her teeth clenched, brows furrowed angrily at the boy. And before Jack could even react, Miko let out an unholy sound and pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. Jack kicked and wriggled under the girls grip, finally managing to set himself free by pulling at her pig-tail. Miko yelped and jumped away as Jack got to his feet, dusting himself off. Ratchet watched the two with annoyance, and a bit of worry. The last time they two had gotten into a fight, Jack had teeth marks on his arms and Miko had sprained her wrist. But, that had been a bit more serious than this. In fact, now they had stopped pinning eachother, and instead were flailing their hands around slapping one another.

Footsteps echoed behind Ratchet, but the red and white mech didn't take a glance to see who it was. Miko was currently clawing as Jacks face. "Is this was Humans call _fighting?_" Ratchet looked over to see Ironhide standing next to him, optic ridge quirked at the sight of the Humans. Ratchet simply shrugged, and Ironhide let out a snort. "Look at her. Her stance is weak, her footing is off, and she should be hitting his left, not his right." Ironhide sniffed. Ratchet gave him a curious look. How did he know all this? "Look at the way he stands. His right side is more dominant than his left, which is why his right foot is in front of his left. The left foot looks weaker, and he's totally exposed to an attack. All of his defense is on his right, not his left." Ironhide explained, shaking his head. Ratchet looked back to see Jack trip Miko over with his foot, letting the girl fall face flat on the floor. Ratchet saw Ironhide smile the tiniest little smirk at this.

Looking down into his servo, he saw Sophie whooping and cheering at the edge, clasping onto his metal digits. "Hit him with the right! Now jab him with the left!" She cheered. Ratchet raised an optic ridge at Sophie, and she simply turned and shrugged. "I saw it in a movie." With that, she went back on to shouting. Ratchet smiled a little, and quickly turned his head as he heard booming footfalls. Thank Primus, Optimus was coming. The leader could always sort out some kind of solution to their arguements and fights, being the peace-maker of all the fights. Like when Bulkhead was practicing in the training arena and accidentally hit Arcee with his wrecking ball. The femme had been furious. Of course, when she had gained consciousness she had been. Arcee and chased Bulkhead throughout the base, shrieking like a banshee as Bulkhead screamed like a little girl. Of course, Ratchet had been enjoying every bit of it, and had been very disappionted when Optimus came and broke it up.

The large red and blue mech came through the large hallway, Prowl by his side. Optimus gave a weary look at the pair of fighting Humans, and Prowl seemed a bit surprised by it. Optimus walked up to Jack and Miko, who completely ignored his presence. Jack yowled with pain as Miko twisted his arm behind his back, smiling smugly. And just as Jack about to kick Miko, Optimus picked the two up by their shirt collars, lifting them up off the ground. Jack gave a look of shame to Optimus' stare of disappointment, while Miko squirmed and wriggled. It reminded Ratchet greatly of their time playing 'Capture the Flag'. He let a small shiver run down his spine at the memory, but brushed it off as Optimus began to speak. "I thought I told you two that rough-housing was not permitted within the Base." Optimus said in a very stern tone. Miko crossed her arms, looking away, as Jack twiddled with his thumbs, flicking his eyes between the ground and Optimus. Optimus sighed, looking to Jack. "Now, will one of you please explain what you were fighting about."

Jack suddenly turned himself to glare at Miko. "It was her! All her!" He said, pointing to the girl.

Miko snarled at Jack. "_Me_? Why does all the blame go on me?" She looked up to Optimus. "It was him who started it! He blamed me for what happened with Sierra!" Optimus glanced to Jack, raising an optic ridge at the boy.

Jack crossed his arms. "If it weren't for you, I would have been with Sierra right now." He hissed.

Miko was at her boiling point. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" She screeched. Her finger went another way, pointing to Sophie. "IT WAS HER FAULT!"

Sophie cowered away from the teens sight, back into the corner of Ratchets servo. Ratchet quickly shot a death glare at Miko, clenching his teeth as he snarled. Jack looked at Miko for a second, trying to find some accusing way to point the blame back to her, but there wasn't any that came to mind. No, to Jack, it really had been Sophies fault. But it was always Miko's fault when something like that happened! Jack looked away again, back towards the ground. "She...it doesn't matter. Little kids always say stupid stuff..." He muttered. He couldn't blame Sophie, he couldn't yell at her like he did to Miko. It wouldn't be right. Besides, if he did make her upset, it would just make him feel guilty. And Ratchet would probably squish him.

Optimus looked between the Humans, and sighed. He carefully set them both back down on the ground, standing up. "Now, tomorrow, I want both of you to help Ironhide polish his cannons," Miko looked up at the black mech with excitement. "And then you must mop up the Base. Miko, for causing more trouble than needed, you will give Ratchet a good clean." Ratchet smiled smugly as Miko pouted, before she smiled deviously. "Miko, if you pull any stunts, I will take away your privileges of 'dune-bashing'." Miko looked up at Optimus with complete and utter shock, before crossing her arms and muttering a small, "Fine" before stomping away. Jack smiled up at Optimus, before going after Miko.

Ironhide looked at Optimus with a scowl. "I don't want any fleshies touching my cannons." Optimus simply narrowed his eyes at the black mech, and Ironhide did the same. Their staring match lasted for about a minute, before Ironhide pulled away, grumbling under his breath as he walked towards his quarters. Optimus let a small smile slip onto his metalic lips as he looked back to Ratchet, cocking his head to the side slightly at his medic.

"Ratchet, please explain to me what happened." Optimus said.

Ratchet opened his mouth to speak, but Sophie quickly stood up on his servo. "So me and Miko were walkin' through a store, tryin' to find swim suits and stuff, when Sierra popped out of no where! Miko and Sierra didn't really talk to eachother for a little while, so I just had to do something! You know how Jack like likes Sierra? I told her what he said about her! And then Jack popped up! They talked a little, I was just waiting for them to kiss and whatever!" Sophie crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "But they didn't. Then Sierra left, and Miko started laughing and stuff. It was really weird. Then I told Jack what I told Sierra!" She said with a smile, which soon turned down a bit. "But...I don't know why he's all mad and stuff..."

Optimus paused to look up at Ratchet. "Why were you at a 'store'? Did the Humans require something?" He questioned.

Ratchet rubbed the back of his helm with his free servo. Oh yeah...he had forgotten to tell Optimus of their plans..."Well, Optimus. I...We, the Humans and some of us, have decided that we need a little time off." Optimus cocked his head to the side. "You see...the Humans are on what you can call, 'Spring Break', where they get off school for a couple of weeks. And...well...we have decided to go to the beach." Ratchet said quickly. Optimus looked at Ratchet for a few seconds before realizing he wasn't just being nice to the Humans for once. Ratchet needed to get away from his own worries, if that were even possible. And Optimus had to admit...a break would be nice. Optimus paused for a few more seconds before nodding. "And the Humans have requested we stay overnight." Now, that was a different matter. Staying overnight? Something bad could easily happen while they were away, and Optimus would come back to hear one giant rant from Agent Fowler. No, Optimus couldn't take another one of those. He'd blow a fuse...

Sophie, seeing Optimus' hesitation, put on her cutest puppy-dog-face. "Please Otmus? _Pleeeaaassseee?_" Optimus gave her a thoughtful look, and sighed, nodding slowly. Sophie smiled broadly up at the mech. The others were going to be so happy to hear the good news!

Optimus looked at Ratchet, and the medic sighed. He knew that look, it was the look he gave him when they needed to talk. Carefully setting Sophie on the ground, he bent down, nudging her in the ribs with a digit. "Sophie, go find Rafael. The grown-ups have to talk." Sophie looked at him with wide eyes, but nodded, scampering down the hallway to find the boy. Ratchet stood up, looking to Optimus. "What is it Optimus? Is it about the beach?" He questioned. "Because if it is, it was my idea, and-"

"Ratchet, please, tell me why." Optimus quickly interupted him.

Ratchet cocked his head to the side. "What?" He asked.

Optimus looked him in the optics, searching for something. "Why are you not sad, or at the least in a gloomier mood than you usually are." Optimus sighed. "I'm simply confused...she is being taken away from you, and you are not doing anything. You are not talking with Special Agent Fowler, you are not even putting up a fight. You are not angry, or sad..." The great red and blue mech looked at his medic with utter confusion. "Please, give me an answer. Tell me why?"

Ratchet looked at the ground for a moment. A cloat of bitter sweet sadness became stuck in his throat, but he quickly swallowed it. He looked up to Optimus. "It wouldn't help if I panicked, or went into a fit of rage. No, it would probably just make things worse." His metal brows furrowed as he looked deep into Optimus' glowing blue optics. "And you're wrong. I am angry, and I am sad. I can't deny it." He sighed heavily. "But I can't be. I can't let her find out Optimus, not yet." Ratchet shook his head. "If she see's me like how I feel, she'll figure it out. Sooner or later she will. But not now...not when she's so happy..." Ratchet trailed off, and sucked in a breath as his servo's clenched into fists. "Do you know how much it pains me to lie to her? To pretend everything is perfect when it's not? To pretend that I'm happy, when I feel like slumping over and offlining? _Do you?" _His voice shook, and Optimus looked at him with concern and sadness. Ratchet turned away from Optimus, looking to the ground as his shoulder plates shook. "No, you don't. But that doesn't matter." Ratchet looked over his shoulder at Optimus, optics narrowed into tiny slits. "All that matters is that she's happy..."

And with that, Ratchet briskly left Optimus bewildered in the room.

**XXX**

Sophie ran down the hallway, trying to find Rafael. He wasn't on playing those racing games on the T.V, and he wasn't in the main part of the base, so he had to be somewhere in the halls. Maybe he was playing with 'Bee again, one of those role-play games he did. She remembered she had once played too, and it had been very fun! Of course, she had wanted to play 'Pretty Princess's', to which both 'bot and boy refused, and had ended up playing 'Explorer'. They had been in the Artic, and Raf made all those wind noises and everything! It had been so cool! Sophie turned the corner, and heard a surprised gasp as she clashed into the person, falling onto her bum. Looking up, she saw Miko had fallen over as well. Miko quickly got to her feet, Sophie doing the same. Miko paused for a second before her eyes burned with anger. "Oh, it's _you._" She hissed. "Thanks a lot for getting me in so much trouble!" Sophie recoiled as Miko snapped at her, her eyes widening. "God, Jack's such a retard. 'Oh, she's just a little kid, she didn't know!'" She mocked Jacks voice, glaring at Sophie. "Of course you didn't." Miko growled, jabbing Sophie in the chest. "It's because of you I'm in all of this trouble! I-!"

Before Miko could go on, she stopped herself, looking beyond Sophie. Sophie, her eyes wide and brimming with small tears, turned around to see Jack. His brows furrowed, his hands turned into fists, teeth clenched, he looked at Miko. Jack walked up to her, hiding Sophie behind him. He went straight into Miko's face, nose to nose with the girl. "Shouldn't you be 'causing trouble somewhere else?" He snarled. Miko gave him an icy glare before stomring away, cursing a line of swears about Jack as she went. Jack glared at her 'till she was out of his sight, and quickly turned around to look at Sophie. Her eyes were tearing up, her lower lip quivering. He bent down, smiling wearily. "Hey Sophie."

Much to his surprise, Sophie flung herself onto him, hugging him tightly as she clutched his shirt. "I'm so sorry Jackie...for messing everything up." She whispered. "Miko's right...it's all my fault what happened with Sierra..." She sniffled loudly, and Jack suddenly felt wetness on the back of his shirt. He grabbed her shoulders, detaching her from him. Tears came down her cheeks, and a bit of snot was dripping down from her nose.

Jack smiled, and shook his head. "No, you didn't mess anything up. Don't listen to what Miko says, she's crazy." He smiled. "And besides, I think now what you did was a good thing. I haven't been able to talk to Sierra without one of her friends laughing at me, and I haven't even been that close to her without Vince coming up out of no where." Jack pulled Sophie into a hug.

Sophie sniffled once more before smiling. "Thank you Jackie..." She said quietly.

* * *

><p><strong>And I know this is kinda late but...HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! And again, I'm soooooo sorry for being so late for updates! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! But to make up for it, I have given you Jack and Sophie fluffiness! And don't worry about Miko, that was just her way to blow off some steam. She'll be back to normal in...about five minutes :) And yes, the beach chapter will be next, chill your pants people!<strong>

**AND MY BABY COUSIN WAS BORN ON THE 4TH! I just wanted to let you guys know, since one little detail about him made me twitch. His name is SANTOS O_O I was waiting for his middle name to be Joseph...which I think it is...*twitch*...**


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay guys, to start the chapter off, I would just like to remind you guys...**

**There is no that Ratchet can keep Sophie. I'm sorry, I had to tell Lady Starscream as well, but it's the honest truth. The only way he can keep her is if he runs away with her - AND THAT'S NOT HAPPENING! Ratchet doesn't need to add kidnapping on the list of bad things he's done :P There's no loop hole, nothing. It has to be done. And that's why Ratchet is intent on making this the best days of Sophie's life. Because he knows that there's nothing he can do :*(**

**I'm sorry people...**

**But anyway, enough with the sad stuff! Shout outs to the Reviewers time!**

**To Guest (#2...I think...),**

**Nothing bad is going to happen at the beach. It's not going to be another, 'Capture the Flag' incident. That was because my sick messed up brain made me have a horrible nightmare about Arachnid and Sophie. Everything is going to be fine, don't worry :) Besides, Sophie doesn't really deserve to be mauled today.**

**To StarscreamsHater,**

**Wow O_O You really hate Starscream. Well, your name says it all, but still. And he didn't hurt Sophie at all, and Ironhide kicked his aft, so it's all good :3 And I'm sorry to say, but Starscream won't be dying in this fic. Maybe almost killed, but not entirely dying. And I know, the song is pretty frickin' awsome :3**

**To NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,**

**I can't really tell if your name is a good thing or a bad thing...but anyway...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASM! (Is that how you spell it? Herma herm derma kerm...) You know what keeps me going? You guys. All you viewers, reviewers, creepers, stalkers, weirdos, crazies, phsycos, and mental hospital patients. (Wait...I'm all of those...hehehe :3) THANK YOU FOR READING THINGS THAT I MAKE IN MY MESSED UP BRAIN! :D**

**And also...has anybody seen Ratchet? He still hasn't found that blue dandelion and has been missing for a couple days now...**

* * *

><p>Miko smiled broadly, jumping up and down excitedly. Oh, today was the day! After so much work, the degrading things that she had to do for Ratchet, and cleaning the entire Base, it was finally time! The beach awaited! The Autobots were prepping themselves for the beach, putting on some anti-rust stuff for the water, and some long name that she couldn't pronounce for the sand so it wouldn't get stuck in their joints. Jack and Raf waited on the coach, Sophie by Mikos side as they bounced up and down. Miko was wearing green shorts and a thin purple cover-up for her swim-suit with dark purple flip-flops, while Sophie wore a light pink sundress with white polka-dots and pink flip-flops. Jack wore a simple gray sleevless shirt with denim shorts and brown sandals, and Raf had a short sleeved orange shirt on, demin shorts, and light brown sandals. Three beach bags were on the side of the coach, full of sunscreen and sand-castle building shovels and buckets, towels, the whole packet. Their beach umbrella lay tilted against the coach, as well as their beach chairs and all the other things that couldn't fit into the bags.<p>

And how they managed to do all this was because of one little lie.

Of course, June had been fine with it all, and was actually coming along. She was currently helping Ratchet in getting the some of the 'sand-keep-away', as Miko had dubbed it, into hard to reach places that Ratchets hands couldn't fit into. Miko and Raf of course had to lie. They couldn't just tell their parents they were going to a beach with several giant alien robots. Instead, they said they had won a trip to the beach to study wild-life and whatever, and would be staying the night. Rafs parents had been a little clingy, but had managed to let him go. Mikos host parents, on the other hand, had been quite elated to get rid of her, and Miko had been absolutely estatic to get away from them. So everything was set, all was well, and none of them could wait any longer to get to the beach. They had all decided to go to a secluded beach in Hawaii, the Humans telling the 'Bots that it was the best place to go to the beach.

Bumblebee seemed quite excited about going, thinking about the things that Raf had told him about the beach. Bulkhead was actually pretty excited to go as well, thinking of all the things that he could possibly smash, and Arcee couldn't help but show that she was very happy to have a, not getting shot at or blown up for once. Optimus was neutral about it all, as always, Ratchet was happier than usual, Prowl was fascinated from all that he heard about the beach, and was a bit anxious to see what it all actually looked like. Ironhide, on the other hand, was scowling just thinking of the idea of going. He never interacted with the little flesh bags, and for a very good reason. They were _extremely _annoying. The way they were so tiny, the way they were so helpless, the way they talked about things that didn't matter at all, the way they "disposed" of their digested food. All of it made Ironhide want to keep away from the Humans. And that's what did. Whenever they were around, he would go in the training room, go out of the Base for some target practice, take any patrol duty that was available, or just go and polish his cannons in his quarters. He couldn't even get up in the morning for a nice cool cube of energon without a Human coming out of nowhere and giving him a spark attack. Ironhide grumbled as Ratchet slathered on some medical stuff, he didn't even bother to ask what it was or what it did, onto his armor. "Do I have to go? Shouldn't someone stay at Base?" Ironhide questioned, annoyance in his tone.

Ratchet didn't even look at the weapons specialist. "No, you can't stay at Base. Yes, you have to go."

Ironhide snarled, getting up and crossing his arms over his wide black chest. "Give me one good reason to listen to you." The black mech growled.

Ratchet didn't even pause as he raised his head. "_SOPHIE_!"

For once in his long lifetime, Ironhide was afraid, _very _afraid. The Primus forsaken child could go on and on, not ever stopping her constant blabbering. "No!" Ironhide quickly said, his frame gone rigid. Ratchet let a smug smile pull on his metallic lips as he pushed Ironhide back down into a seated position, once again rubbing at the mechs armor. Bumblebee and Bulkhead snickered at the black mech, only to silence themselves as Ironhide sent them a death glare. Miko couldn't help but chuckle, and looked back at Jack and Raf, who were snickering as well. All had been settled, Jack and Miko had sort of apologized, and Miko had given Sophie the biggest, mushiest sorry she had ever given to anyone in probably her entire life. She had gone a bit bi-polar, she had to admit. Just an hour ago, she had been a giant tornado of hatred, spitting venom to anyone who dared cross her path. And now, she had a big happy blob of excitement. But, not all had forgiven her. During her giant rampage, she had gone into the training room, and maybe, kind of, sorta...messed it up a bit. And by a 'bit', she meant knocking over, and or denting all of the training weapons, using one of them to blast a hole in a wall, taking the weapons stands apart piece by piece, and hanging toilet paper everywhere so it looked like a giant spider web. Ironhide had insisted that the punishment for such a thing should be termination, saying something along the lines, "When somebody stepped out of line in my day, they would be offlined right on the spot!" Of course, Optimus had stopped his rambled about 'back-in-the-day', and had said that today she could go with them to the beach, but right when they got back, she would have to clean up the entire training room by herself without any help.

Miko was perfectly fine with that, just as long as she got to go to the beach. She had been waiting for this since forever! If forever meant a couple of hours ago. Miko could barely hold in her excitement. She jumped up and down uncontrollably, looking at Ratchet anxiously. "Are you done yet?" She whined.

Ratchet stopped his working, barely turning his head to look at her. "I'll be done when I'm done." He snapped, and went back to rubbing Ironhides armor.

Miko pouted, resting her chin her fist. "Are you done now?" She questioned.

"No."

"Now?"

"_No."_

"_Now?"_

"_NO!_" Ratchet yowled, his optics giving an icy glare to the girl. Miko quieted down, shrinking back at the medics fury.

_"..._Now?'

"Yes."

Miko gasped in excitement, bouncing up and down. "Really?"

"No."

Mikos pigtails drooped, and her lower lip jutted out as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not funny Ratchet." She growled, and stomped over to the couch to where Jack and Raf were. "You better not fall asleep Ratchet, 'cause you're going to be the first one I prank." Ratchet let a shiver go down his spine at her threat. Oh, he would _not _be recharging tonight. And now that everyone else had heard her little threat, he didn't think they would be either. Well, maybe Bulkhead. The Human would _never _pull a prank on her guardian, except on the occasion when he got her mad. Primus have mercy on the mech or femme who got her mad. She would always get her revenge, in any way or form, no matter how much trouble she would get into. To Miko, it was all worth it once she saw the absolute embarrassment and shock on her victims face. None of them could forget the time she had hung Jack by upside down in the hallway, half naked with only his underwear on, or the time she had managed to pry off Bumblebee's armor, hiding it, leaving him to run around in his protoform trying to frantically find his his yellow plating. Arcee hadn't been able to look at the poor scout the same for several days, fleeing the room with some excuse such as, "I have to go train" or, "I'm going for a drive".

Ratchet shook his head. Oh, those horribly awful days...

Going back to reality, he finished off his rubbing, and rubbed his hands together. "There." He turned to the anxious Miko, who was sitting on the couch, Sophie squished next to her as Miko and Raf fought over a pillow. "I'm done Miko." The girl, who was playing tug-of-war with Raf, lit up, and let go of the pillow, leaving Raf to fly into Jack. She completely ignored him as she jumped off the couch, grabbing her bags, and bolting down the stairs in a split second. Jack was the second to get off the couch, grabbing his beach bag was he walked down the stairs, Sophie being the third, and Raf being the fourth. The children stood anxiously, a few feet away from the groundbridge. June joined her sons side as Ratchet made his way to the groundbridge, tapping in the coordinates and pulling the switch. The tunnel was filled with brilliant light, and the Humans were the first to enter. They would check if anyone was there, then contact the 'Bots giving the all clear. June lead the group, peeking her head out of the swirling portal. No one was there was far as she could see. Walking out, grains of sand flipped onto her tan flip-flops as she walked across the beach. The water was crystal clear, no clouds in the sky, and just the slightest wind. It was perfect. Bringing out her phone, June called Arcee.

The slender blue femme was the first to come out, observing the surrounding area with wide optics. next to come was Bumblebee, who literally flung himself out of the portal, speeding to Rafs side. As he rest of the Autobots came out of the groundbridge, the Humans began to set up. June pulled out the beach chairs as Jack and Miko patted down the beach towels on the sand, and Raf and Sophie fixed in the beach umbrella. Not a second before they were done, Miko ripped off her clothes, showing off her purple bikini. With legs spread apart, and arms reaching towards the sky, she screeched at the top of her lungs, "BEACH PARTY!" And leaped into an incoming wave. Jack rolled his eyes, Sophie jumping in to join the crazy girl. Raf and Bumblebee began to form their sand castle, Raf simply showing Bumblebee how to create such things. Miko splashed in the waves, and turned to a wandering Bulkhead. "Come on 'Bulk! Jump in!" She called to her giant green companion. Bulkhead made his way to the waves, feeling the water flow against his armor. From where Miko was, the water reached her knees. To Bulkhead, it made some way up his foot.

Sophie, the water just below her chest, waved to Ratchet, who was currently standing next to June, talking about medical things and such. "Watchet! Watchet come on!" Ratchet didn't even look at her, not even hearing her cry. Sophie made her way out of the water, dripping wet as she trotted her way across the hot sand. Coming up to Ratchet, she knocked on his foot, causing him to look down. "Watchet! Come in the water with me!" She pleaded, grabbing onto his foot and trying with all her strength to pull him over to the ocean. Ratchet chuckled, and look to June, sharing an amused look. With her sunglasses and floppy beach hat, she waved him off, opening up the book she had placed into her lap. Ratchet followed Sophie to the water, and had the same problem as Bulkhead. The water wasn't even deep to them, when to the Humans, if they just went out a bit farther so the water could at least reach their ankles, they would and could possibly drown. Ratchet turned to Bulkhead, and shivered at the thought that they had the same idea. The big oaf did have enough brain to think of it. Picking up their charges, they walked farther into the ocean, where the water finally met their knees. Ratchet didn't dare put Sophie down, fearing that she didn't know how to swim. Bulkhead, as Ratchet had predicted, followed his idiotic calling and let Miko into the water. She tredded in the ocean, kicking her legs to keep afloat. Ratchet watched as she pushed herself onto her back, and simply floated on the surface, smiling as the sun touched her skin.

Ratchet bent over, letting the water spill into his servos. The old 'Bot smiled as Sophie splashed around merrily, laughing as Miko hit against Bulkheads knee. The teen rubbed her head, giving Sophie an icy glare she laughed at her. Ratchet sent her an even icier glare, making her turn away innocently to Bulkhead. "'Bulk!" She waved her arms, quickly gaining the green mechs attention. "Make a wave! A really big wave!" She shouted. Bulkhead scratched his helm for a moment as Miko made splashing noises, and shrugged. Putting his arm in the water, he thrust them forwards violently. Ratchet quickly backed away as a giant wave came from the water, Miko shrieking as it went over her. Ratchet and Bulkhead looked curiously down at the water, waiting for Miko to come up. After a few worried moments, she emerged to the top, pumping her fist up in the air. "Again 'Bulk! Again! But even bigger this time!"

Miko's screams were even heard by the others, who either turned their heads to look or simply rolled their eyes. June was on her beach chair, talking with Optimus and Prowl. Jack had been trying to set up the tents, but after several minutes of trying -and failing- he had given up and gotten out a kite, flying it through the air. Arcee watched with interest, asking why Humans enjoyed such an activity when it was overall pointless. Of course, Jack had no answer, and was just trying to explain it to the blue femme. Bumblebee was gently patting down his rather large sand castle as Raf was putting the finishing touches on his, adding a few seashells and twigs. And Ironhide was watching them all, looking to the small jungle behind them occasionly in case some random Decepticon suddenly popped out. "Bumblebee, you're castle looks amazing!" The brown haired boy praised his yellow friend. The scout beeped with pride at his little castle, and Ironhide rolled his optics. What was so special about it anyway? It was just a mound of sand with a few shells and twigs was all. _Humans_. Ironhide thought as he shoke his helm. They did the strangest and most pointless things. Ironhide didn't see why Optimus was so fond of this planet, protecting the Humans and whatnot. Sure, the Decepticons were here, but they could just go and shoot them down if they wanted. But _no_, Optimus didn't want to harm the little flesh-bags. Every move they made was watched by the puny little creatures, and Ironhide had felt his energon boil as that 'Agent Fowler' man had yelled at Optimus for Primus knows what! But the thing that made him even more made was that Optimus didn't do a thing to defend himself. He _apologized_ like he had done something wrong. It truly sickened the black mech.

"Ironhide!"

Ironhide looked over to see Raf beckoning him over. The black mech sighed, and walked over to the two. As he stopped in front of him, Raf laid himself on the ground. "Do you wanna help me bury myself in the sand?" He questioned. Ironhide cocked an optic ridge as the scout and the boy looked at him excitedly. Bury him in the sand? Was the kid _crazy?! _Ironhide didn't know much about Humans, but he did know that oxygen was important to their survival, and he was positive there wasn't any down there. Ironhide mentally shrugged after thinking it over for a few more seconds. If the kid wanted to do something stupid, who was he to stop him. Before either boy or scout could do anything, Ironhide plucked Raf off of the ground, dug a hole, dropped him in, and covered it. Bumblebee didn't even pause before shrieking a shrill cry and flailed around a bit before digging furiously at the ground. Optimus had hurried over by the time the frantic scout finally found him sand covered charge. Raf had sand everywhere, in his hair, stuck onto his skin, and all over his glasses. The poor boy was even coughing it up as he took in air! Bumblebee beeps were fast and frantic, and high pitched as he whirred while trying to brush off Raf. The boy coughed a few more grains before looking at Ironhide. "I-Ironhide?!" He squeaked before coughing some more. Bumblebee looked at the black mech with fury, slapping him as he flailed around some more.

Optimus looked at the black mech in a bewildered fashion, and Ironhide simply shrugged. "He asked me to do it." He said simply.

June and Prowl stared at the group curiously as Bumblebee beeped and whirred furiously, at the same time cooing gently to Raf. Prowl shook his helm, looking back at the woman as she gave a worried glance at Raf before popping a gummy-bear into her mouth. "Mrs. Darby, may I ask why exactly you eat such a thing? Is it not correct that such fuels are unhealthy for Humans? You should know this. You have a medical profession, do you not?" The black and white mech qustioned curiously.

June looked at him for a moment, chewing slowly on the small gummy. "Well...yes, I know that. But...it's just...they taste good." She said, placing a red gummy into her mouth after she swallowed the other. Prowl cocked his head to the side for a moment, shuddering his bright blue optics.

"Oh..." He said quietly, and his optics narrowed at the packet of the gummies, examining it for a moment before letting out a shocked sound. "How do they make these, 'Gummy Bears'? I was informed that bears were quite large creatures. How do they compound them into such a small, squishy state?" Prowl asked, carefully picking up a yellow gummy that had fallen into the sand between his digits, examining it over a few times. June smiled at his questions, and shook her head, waving her hand at the mech as he sniffed the small gummy curiously.

"No, no, no, no. They're not actual bears. They're just shaped like that for fun." She explained. "Like...Dino-shaped Chicken Nuggets."

Prowl stared at her for a long moment, blinking. "'Dino-shaped Chicken Nugget'?" He questioned. June smacked her forehead as the mech quickly bombarded her with questions of the food she had stupidly used for an example. She thanked the Lord when Miko came romping up on the shore, Bulkhead trailing after her with Ratchet and Sophie on their tails. The mischievous Asian girl trotted up to Jack, who had put away his kite to sip at some Coke while sitting on his beach chair. With a swift movement, she pulled the chair right from beneath his bottom, letting him fall to the ground with a thump. Miko laughed hysterically, as the coke had spilled all over his lap and it looked at though he had peed himself. Jack sat there, shocked for a moment as Miko laughed, Arcee trying hard to resist a chuckle. His face grew red with embarresment and anger, and he jumped up. Miko stopped her laughing and darted away just as Jack scrambled to get her. Jack chased Miko, who gracefully leaped across the sand as Jack stumbled over himself, the sand burying his feet and he tried to drag them out. Miko stopped her a moment, sticking her tongue out at him twice before crying, "MEEP MEEP!", and bolting. Jack growled, cursing at the stupid sand and raising his fist at Miko.

"You...You stupid...Stupid aft-face!" Jack snarled, whipping some sand off of his feet as he dug them out of the ground for at least the fifth time.

Miko looked back at him, at least twenty feet away from him, and rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "_Great _comeback Jack." She said, only making the boy even more annoyed and angry with the girl. "I mean, really? 'Stupid aft-face'? I think even Raf could think of better ones than _that_." Raf, who was washing all of the sand away in the water, looked at Miko angrily. He wasn't that bad at name calling! It was just...he wasn't good at it was all. Jack snarled at her, muttering a few more curses before running towards her, trying hard not to get caught in the sand. Miko, seeing the fury in his eyes, yelped and ran over to the drying Bulkhead, hiding behind his large leg as Jack came after her. Just as she was about to dash away again, Jack came and caught her by the pigtail, dragging her off. "Ow, ow, ow, ow! Don't pull so hard!" She growled, and looked to her great green guardian with pleading eyes, trying to wriggle from Jacks grasp, only to cringe in more pain of her hair being pulled. "Bulkhead! Help me! Gab him! No, shoot him! _Please!"_ She looked back to bark at Jack some more as he pulled on her hair even harder, smiling a dumb smile as he dragged her, a dangerous twinkle in his eye.

Bulkhead simply chuckled. "Nope, can't help 'ya. Busy!" Miko clawed at the air as if it was Bulkhead while he was "busy" helping Sophie destroy the city she had built, acting like a Godzilla tearing down the mini sand city beneath her. Just as Miko was about to retort with some sarcasm and probably a few curse words as well, but all that came out was a scream was Jack poured the large bottle of Coke his mom had brought in the cooler. Miko dripped with the sticky liquid, while Jack laughed his butt off. Miko looked at Jack, and tackled him to the ground. Ratchet and Arcee rolled their optics as they fought once again, rolling on the ground. June looked to Optimus with raised brows, while the red and blue mech watched the two with a bit of amusement. This wasn't a real fight, he could tell. If it was, Raf and Sophie wouldn't be standing on the sidelines, rooting either Jack or Miko on.

"Get her Jack!" Raf hollered as Jack triumphantly pinned Miko down.

"Go Miko, go!" Sophie cried as Miko grabbed Jacks hair, pulling him off her and pushing his face into the sand.

"Say Uncle! _Say it!" _Miko hissed. Jack shook his head defiantly, and she pulled his hair a bit harder, making him squeal.

Prowl cocked his head to the side, looking at the two. "'Uncle'?"

June put her head in her hands. "Oh no..."

**XXX**

"So, who wants to tell a story?"

June looked around at the gathered with bright eyes. It had grown dark, the sun just under the horizon. The tents had been set up, all of their beach things put away, and now they were sitting around a small campfire on their beach towels. Jack sat next to his mother, Arcee sitting beside the boy. Miko was near the fire, a stick in her hand with a fluffy marshmellow on the end, roasting as she put it near the fire. Bulkhead was sitting a bit behind her, Ironhide next to him, chatting a bit with the wrecker. Bumblebee and Raf sat a bit away from the two mechs and the girl, Bumblebee watching curiously as his charge put together a smore. Optimus and Prowl sat on Bumblebee's other side, the great red and blue mech looking peaceful as he watched the Humans and his warriors. Ratchet and Sophie finished the circle they sat in, the small girl eating a smore messily as Ratchet looked at her, aching to clean off the white, sticky marshmellow bits that stuck around her mouth. Miko quickly sucked the marshmellow right off of her stick, swallowing it in one gulp. She raised her hand excitedly, waving her arm around. "Oh! Oh, I have a really good one!" She chirped.

June nodded towards Miko, he looked around at the mechs, femmes, and Humans. "One day, a boy and his girlfriend were driving down the road. They were just getting back from a party, and it was getting a bit dark. The girl out the window, and noticed that this wasn't the way they had come. She asked her boyfriend if he knew where they were going, and he nodded. Of course, he didn't, and they kept driving in the night, _totally lost." _Miko said in a mysterious voice. Ironhide looked at her with a raised brow, while Bulkhead simply looked at his charge with interest at the story she told. Optimus kept his neutral look, though a bit confused at the point of it, and Sophie looked at the girl with wide eyes. She had always been pushed out of the room when the 'big-girls' told the scary stories, thinking she was too young and would get scared easily. Well, she didn't see what was so scary about it so far. "Soon, the car came to a stop on the side of the road. The girl knew they were lost by then, and was really annoyed with her boyfriend. The boy got out of the car to see what was wrong, while the girl waited inside. He opened the hood, and the girl couldn't see him anymore because of it." Miko continued. "The girl got really worried when he didn't come back, and was about to get out and check on him, when she heard an awful scratching noise outside. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and she covered her ears trying to get rid of it. The scratching went on and on, and her boyfriend still didn't come back. It only got darker and darker, and the scratching just wouldn't stop. So the girl got out of the car, and screamed." Miko paused a moment to look around at them all. "There, hanging from a branch, was her boyfriend, _dead. _He was hanging just over the car, his nails scratching against the roof of the car was blood dripped from his mouth and onto the hood."

Arcee looked at Miko curiously, June with a raised brows, Jack with rolling eyes, Bulkhead with a bit of amusement in his optics, Ironhide with a small sniff, Bumblebee with a shiver, Prowl with wide optics, Ratchet with his arms crossed over his chasis, and Optimus with a bit of a disturbed faceplate. How could Humans come up with such horrible, horrible tales about one another dying. Of course, sometimes femmes would scare their sparklings into sleeping with threats of Unicron coming to eat them if they didn't, but this was much much different. Raf and Sophie were probably the only ones actually scared, for during the story they had somehow found their way to one another, and were holding onto each other for dear life in front of Optimus and Prowl. Ironhide looked at Miko. "Is that the _best_ scary story you have?" The black mech snorted. Miko scowled up at him, crossing her arms over her chest and slumping over, grumbling under her breath.

"Hey, it's better than any Boogie-Man story..." She growled.

Sophie looked at Miko curiously, letting go of Raf. "Who's the 'Boogie-Man'?" She questioned curiously.

Raf and Jack both groaned as Miko let an impish smile slip onto her lips, and she stood up, hunching over. "The Boogie-Man is the most _evilest_, _scariest _monster there is." She said in a low and mysterious voice as she crept closer to Sophie. "He's got razor sharp claws," She pointed her own fingers into what resembled said 'claws', swiping at Sophie who let out a startled gasp. "And bloody red eyes," Sophie let out another gasp as Miko got closer and closer to her, making her scoot back. "And big sharp teeth to eat kids with!" Miko came in close, a strangely evil look in her eyes. "You'd better watch out tonight, he eats little kids. And the Boogie-Man just loves to eat little girls. They're much more tastier. _So watch out!" _Miko jumped at Sophie, sending the four-year-old to hit against Optimus' leg. The mech quickly picked the small, terrified child up, looking at Miko sternly.

"That is enough." He said, and the mischievous girl slumped over at his commanding voice.

"Come on Optimus, every little kid needs to know about the Boogie-Man." She said. Optimus looked to June, who simply shrugged. Somehow, every kid found out about the 'Boogie-Man' one way or another. June had threatened Jack with the Boogie-Man when she found him trying to sneak a few chocolate chip cookies to his bed. Optimus carefully set Sophie back onto the ground as Miko stomped back off to her original stop, plopping down on the ground and muttering something about "stupid-little-kids", as far as Optimus' audio receptors could pick up. Sophie ran off to Ratchet for comfort, and June cleared her throat.

"Well...it's been a long day." She said, and got up to stretch herself. "I think I'm going to hit the sack." Prowl was about to ask why she had said such a strange thing as, 'hit the sack', but Optimus' look made him hold his tongue. "Optimus, make sure those four don't stay up too late, alright?" The red and blue mech nodded towards the woman, and June went inside the tent. Optimus gave a worried glance to see the four children in their own places, Ratchet saying a few comforting words to Sophie while muttering some nasty things that he would do to Miko for scaring the poor child. Miko was talking to Bulkhead and Ironhide, the black mech telling a few gory tales of his own, to which Miko listened to excitedly and Bulkhead adding a few comments of his own. Raf was explaining to Prowl how his little remote-control car worked, showing the black and white mech the small toy as he held it in his hand, Bumblebee chirping away at how good Raf was at the game, and how much the scout enjoyed to race his charge. Jack told Arcee about how his mother rarely let him go camping, due to bugs and plants and all kinds of things. And of course, Miko look at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Not paying attention to Ironhides battle stories, she crept up on Jack noiselessly. She quickly pounced on Jack as he was in the middle of a story, laughing as they tumbled across the ground. Jack smiled at the girls playfulness, enjoying the tackle for once, since it was a friendly one. They rolled across the ground, and just as Raf finished explaining to Prowl, he let out a yelp as Jack and Miko knocked him down. Raf watched the two wrestle, and fixed his glasses, which had been knocked to the side of his face, taking a chocolate bar and chewing on it as he rooted for Jack. Sophie looked at the pair, and somehow forgetting her fear of the Boogie-Man, wriggled in Ratchets grasp, trying to get to the ground to join them.

Overall, Jack and Miko fought, Raf was getting a sugar-rush from the chocolate bars, Sophie had managed to get herself free of Ratchet and was now on top of Miko as she pinned Jack down,

And Optimus was going to somehow manage to get them to go to sleep.

**XXX**

Ratchet couldn't take it anymore.

Everyone had fallen asleep, Raf worn out from his sugar-rush, and Miko and Jack in a dog pile on top of each other. Their guardians had soon fallen into their own recharge, Bulkhead sprawled across the sand, Arcee leaned against a large rock, Bumblebee curled over Raf, Ironhide mumbling something under his breath as he slept some way away from the tent where June slept, Prowl leaned against the big black mech, and Optimus falling asleep like a horse as he sat, optics closed in recharge.

While Ratchet was half asleep, being tormented.

He sat, temper growing as Sophie jumped at every sound, chattering about the 'Boogie-Man' and how he would come and get her. She was determined not to sleep so the Boogie-Man wouldn't get her and eat her. Ratchet wished that she wasn't so gullible at times. He prayed to Primus that she would wear herself out, but that didn't seem to be coming anytime soon. Ratchet tried to keep his optics open, but he couldn't help but nod off a few times before being awoken by Sophie. "Watchet! He's comin' to get me! You gotta stay awake or he'll eat you too!" She cried, pushing at Ratchets chest. Ratchet tried hard not to snarl at her, but he needed his recharge. It was around one in the morning, and still pitch black outside.

Ratchet shook his head. "There's no such thing as a Boogie-Man Sophie! He's not real!" Ratchet growled, closing his optics for a moment.

"But Miko said-!"

"Miko says a lot of things." Sophie cringed a bit at Ratchets hard tone, and Ratchet went on with a weary sigh. "Just go to sleep, alright? There's no Boogie-Man. If there was, he would have eaten Miko first." He gestured his head to the sleeping form of Miko, who occasionally twitched her hand or foot. "What Miko didn't tell you is that the Boogie-Man eats bad children. If you're bad, and don't listen to me when I tell you to go to sleep, he _will _come and eat you." Ratchet said, and Sophie looked at him with wide eyes. She nodded quickly, and took a look around before curling up in Ratchets lap, peeking an eye open once or twice before finally falling asleep. Ratchet let out a relieved sigh, and turned his head to see Optimus looking at him, an optic ridge raised as the left side of his mouth was twitched upward into a small half-smile. Ratchet rolled his optics, shrugging his shoulders. "It was a little lie. Besides, I couldn't take her whining much longer before blowing a fuse." Optimus chuckled lightly before nodding his head. Ratchet looked away from him, onto the horizon where the sky was a bit lighter than the pitch black blanket which covered the rest. This had been an eventful day indeed.

Soon, the beach was filled with dreams of monster-trucks, shooting 'Cons, making peace, racing cars, planet Earth, kissing girls, smashing things, lost lovers, finding a voice, beautiful flowers, and keeping what was dear.

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><p><strong>Oh, I almost forgot my random blabber for the day!<strong>

**Here's a little advice from your dear old friend 'Chip...**

**#1: Violence is ALWAYS the answer. Don't listen to what other people say, they're the ones that get killed in the end.**

**#2: Rubber duck hunting is NOT, I REPEAT, NOT an actual sport. Even though it's super fun to do in the park, it's not considered a sport. YET. Those Olympic directors I have yet to crack...**

**#3: Learning to Waterbend isn't that hard. It just takes practice, discipline, and- DANG IT! I WATERBENDED IN MY PANTS AGAIN! (I'm an Avatar fan :D)**

**#4: Robots will someday take over the Earth, so make sure you have your tin-foil hat to contact E.T. and get him to bring an army to save you. **

**And finally, #5: When Kool-Aid man comes crashing through your wall, make sure to kick his aft. Nobody wants some stupid frickin' giant bowl of crappy juice rammin' through their wall screaming "OH YEAAAHHH!" No. Just no.**

**And I'm soooooo sorry for being late again :( I'm such a horrible person...*cries in a corner*...  
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**But I've been busy with school projects and junk, it's hard to keep up with my fanfictions and stuff :P Again, sorry for the long wait...Please forgive me :*(  
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	28. Chapter 28

**I'M SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR BEING LATE AGAIN! I know you guys said you didn't care, but it bugs me that I haven't been updating quickly enough :( I have no other excuse besides laziness and homework, and I feel like the little guilt monster in my tummy is having his own little party down there :P FRANK! KEEP IT DOWN I'M TRYIN' TO TALK TO THESE NICE PEOPLE! Sometimes he can be SUCH a pain...**

**And, on a totally different note...**

**Um...Guys, I'm getting pretty worried...Ratchets been out for like a month now...**

**Ratchet: *holds up dandelion* I FOUND IT!  
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**Me: OH MY PRIMUS! WHAT'S ALL OVER YOU?! D:  
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**Ratchet: Do you _know_ how long this took to _find-_?!  
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**Me: Is that a dead squirrel?!  
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**Ratchet: -This STUPID blue dandelion?!  
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**Me: Um...  
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**Ratchet: FOREVER! I HAVE RUST IN MY AUDIO RECEPTORS, BUGS IN MY JOINTS, WEEDS IN MY BUMPERS-!  
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**Me: Oh wait...that squirrel isn't dead...  
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**Ratchet: And it's all because of _YOU._ O-O  
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**Me: Ratchet...calm down there Ratchet...NO RATCHET! PUT THE SQUIRREL DOWN RATCHET! WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! NOOOOOO-!  
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_This stupid/crazy Authors Note has been interrupted due to serious aft-kicking. No squirrels were harmed in the making of this fanfic. Other things were. TheChippedCup owns a Autobot belt, a Transformers t-shirt, a fox hat, and currently a few dents in her head. She does not own Transformers._

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><p><em>"...<em>And with both my arms cut off from my frame, I picked up the grenade with my mouth, and chucked it at the Decepticon troops, blasting the slaggers to bits!"

The four children looked at Ironhide with awe as he finished his tale, looking to one another with amazement. They had only heard a few war stories from when the fake Wheeljack had been at Base, but none of them had been like this. Ironhide had at least a thousand stories from breaking out of an Autobot prison, to beating up the baddest 'Cons there were. It was clear that Ironhide and Optimus were close, as most of Ironhides adventures included him. But Optimus had told him the old mech had hated him at the beginning, to which Ironhide responded, "I wouldn't call it hate...it was just...actually, it was hate". Optimus was present, telling the parts that he remembered best, and chuckling when Ironhide made his parts a bit more dramatic then they actually were. The black mech loved to have an audience that listened, for most young mechs and femmes had already heard all of them. Like Arcee for example, who rolled her optics as she passed the group. But Bumblebee sat down with the rest of the children, optics wide as he listened to the stories. Bumblebee had met Ironhide a few times before of course, but mainly in battle, where there was no time for chit-chat. Ratchet, who was welding two pieces of metal together, looked at Ironhide with a groan. "Oh yes, I remember that one. Took me forever to get your arms back on with you squirming."

"I did nothing of the sort! I took it like a mech, and did _not _squirm!" Ironhide tapped his chest, looking at Ratchet with annoyance.

The CMO stopped his work, looking at the mech with a smirk and a raised optic ridge. "Oh really? I guess the femme-like squeals you made were just my imagination then." Ironhide sat stiff, glaring daggers at Ratchet as The four children snickered. He snapped his head back to the Humans, who stopped immediately, looking around innocently. As he heard Optimus trying to get rid of the small smirk on his faceplate, but it only made his mouth twitch and turn upwards, making him look quite silly. Ironhide gave him a narrowed glare, and Optimus looked away. He was relieved to see Bulkhead enter through the groundbridge, gaining Ironhides attention for a few seconds, long enough for him to slip away. Ratchet looked over at the big lug, and was about to ask if he had gobbled down the energon he had found by himself, when his optics caught sight of his armor. Ratchet hurried over to the wrecker, he clutched his arm in pain as he hobbled into the Base. It seemed everyone sensed his pain, and Miko was the first to get to her feet, running up to her guardian. Ratchet was fast enough to sweep Miko back as she was about to step in a small puddle of Bulkheads dripping energon. "Miko, stay back." The medic warned. He knew she knew well that energon was poisonous to Humans, and was glad that she didn't moan or groan, but rather obeyed his command for once.

Ratchet looked over the green mech with worry. Several slices ripped through the armor and a couple of large dents, a very concerning one on his helm. Ratchet moved Bulkheads servo off of his arm, wincing as he saw it was torn, wires and circuits sticking out, sparks and energon coming out from them. Ratchet helped Bulkhead to the med bay, his medical kit out immediately as he began to stop the energon from flowing. The four Humans watched from behind Ratchet with concern, being cautious of the spilled energon on the floor. Bulkhead looked at Miko with a weary smile. "Hey Miko." The girl managed a smile, though her worry showed clearly. "Look," He gestured to his scratched shoulder. "New battle scar." Now Miko smiled, and Ratchet simply shook his head at the mech.

"Geez 'Bulk," Ironhide came up, looking over the mech. "Did the energon come alive and beat you?" He said in a teasing tone.

Bulkhead chuckled a bit, though it was pained, and shook his head. "Nah, it was those slaggin' Insecticons. Primus forsaken beasts cornered me in the mine, managed to hold them off from ripping me apart before they were called back to their ship with the energon." He explained, cringing as Ratchet began to patch up his wounds. He knew this was only the beginning of pain, and he dreaded when Ratchet began to pop out the dents. That was always the worst.

Arcee walked up to Ironhide, coming from seemingly no where, looking her friend over a few times. "Guess the rest of the 'Cons are taking a vacation. My last patrol around some Decepticon sighting areas, I saw several of the bugs flying around in the air." Arcee said, nodding her head. Optimus, who had heard the commotion, let out a small thoughtful rumble. The Insecticons, for some strange reason, had joined Megatron and the Decepticons. Maybe it was because they needed someone to rule over them, as Airachnid had, or maybe it was because they had enough brain to know that if they were a threat to Megatron, who would most likely kill them all. The thought of Airachnid made him feel a chill down his spine. The creepy, eight-legged Decepticon femme was in their Base, though completely defenseless. It had been a pleasure to see her inside of the small container. Ratchet had been a bit tempted to put a bit of deadly poison in the container, but knew Arcee would not approve. This was her rival, not his. No matter what she had done to his charge, Ratchet didn't exactly feel like getting involved in a fight with the femme that day. But Optimus shook the thought away, looking to the green wrecker with concern. Miko, who was being careful to stay away from the puddles of glowing blue liquid on the floor as she gently touched Bulkheads leg in comfort. The wrecker looked down at the girl with a smile, before wincing, letting out a whimper as Ratchet popped out one of the dents in his chest.

"Come on 'Bulk, it's just a little dent!" Miko said, patting the mechs shin as Ratchet began to pop his shoulder. Bulkhead shut his optics tightly as the painful procedure began. He was a big mech, he was a strong mech. He'd battled the most deadliest Decepticons out there, survived grenades, had been blown up so many times he couldn't even count. He was a wrecker! This was a tiny, little, itty-bitty- _OH DEAR PRIMUS THAT'S PAINFUL! _

Ratchet felt a little guilty. _A little. _Ratchet tried to make it over as quickly as possible, but he had to admit, the Insecticons had done a number on the mech. "Stay still Bulkhead!" He growled as the mech tried to squirm away from him. "_Just_..._Hold_..._Still!_" And with a small pop, and a small femme-like squeal, it was over. Miko had slapped her palm onto her forehead as Bulkhead let out the high pitched noise. Sometimes, Bulkhead could be such a _girl. _Ratchet crossed his arms over his chassis. "There. You know, that would have been _a lot _less painful if you had just stayed still, just informing you." The medic said. Bulkhead would have glared at him, if he wasn't wincing in pain. The worst part of being the Doc's patient, was that he wasn't the least bit gentle. Force was the only way of getting things done in Ratchets book. Force, and a lot of wrench-throwing. Bulkhead watched in amusement as Miko tried to climb onto the berth, only to back away slowly as Ratchet pointed one of his famous wrenches at her threateningly. He would never actually throw it. Well, unless it was totally necessary. Like, if Miko were touching his things, or Jack trying to play that horrible harmonica of his.

Sophie raised her hands in the air, smiling broadly. "Watchet fixed him!" She cried happily. Ratchet let a twitch show a smile on his faceplate, rolling his optics. Sophie _always _did this. When he cleaned all of the scorpions out of Bulkheads bumper after a dune bashing session, or repairing Arcees audio receptors after Miko had jammed on her guitar a little too loud, she would prance around him squeaking it over and over again. Sophie ran up to Miko, staring up at Bulkhead with wide eyes, the two asking him seventeen_ thousand_ questions at once.

"Did you beat them good 'Bulk?"

"Were the buggies _really _big?"

"Did they squeal like little sparklings?"

"Did you sit on their heads?"

"I bet you ripped out their guts like last time!"

"Did you hit them like the boxer guys in the movies?"

"I can already see the scrapbook filled with snaps of you crushing these Bugs!"

"Were you scared?"

"Of course he wasn't scared! He's Bulkhead!"

Then Miko went into a large rant about how absolutely _amazing _Bulkhead was at fighting, and how he crushed everything that came in his path. _Well, at least she knows what he's best at. _Ratchet growled to himself as he finished cleaning up the wreckers wounds. Sophie was still asking questions a mile a minute to the mech, and with the two talking it sounded like a big blabber of words that no one could make sense of. Bulkhead looked as though his processer had just been fried as he tried to talk to the two at once, probably just trying to tell them to be quiet. Ratchet did feel a bit bad for the mech, and watched as Jack grabbed Mikos arm. "Come on Miko," The girl barely acknowledged the boy as she blabbered on. "Hey Miko! A Slash Monkey Concert is airing on the tv tonight!" That got the girl going. She wasted no time to squeal in the fangirl way she usually did, rushing away from Bulkhead and up to the tv in half a second. Jack watched as she looked at every channel extremely thoroughly, and Jack knew he had a bit of time before she got through all six hundred of them. He didn't even know if there really was a concert on tonight, and wouldn't want to be her for Mikos rampage when she realized he had lied.

Sophie was left to chirp to Bulkhead, the green mech glad that there was only one voice now. "Poor Bulky! Those meanies gave you all kinds of boo-boos!" She said, peering at his now sealed wounds. "Well, when I met 'em, I'll give 'em a good talkin' to!" She said, puffing up her chest.

Bulkhead chuckled, nodding his head at the tiny Human. "I'm sure. Beat them up good for me, will 'ya?" He said.

Ratchet ground his teeth as he fixed a few patches he had missed. "You'll have nothing to do with those brutes Sophie. They're nothing but savages!" Ratchet said, narrowing his optics at the small patches as he worked. "Their brains are about the size of peas and they'll do anything to win. Dirty fighters is what they are." He growled. Bulkhead rolled his optics as the old medic went on and on about how terrible the bugs were, and took a second to wink at Sophie. Of course she could take on those 'Cons! Their processers would be fried, plus several gaskets blown before Sophie was down with them. She could talk for hours, even Megatron himself would be on his knees begging her to stop. She was a total chatter-box, even more of one than Miko! And that was _really _saying something. "Besides, when would you ever get the chance to talk to them? I don't even think they have big enough brains to know how to talk!" Ratchet said

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest, raising her head. "Miko'll take me! She did last time!" The little girl said with a nod of her head. Miko had promised her to take her along with her the next time she sneaked out with the 'Bots for one of their missions, seeing as they had had one heck of an adventure the last time she had gone with.

An angry flash passed over Ratchets faceplate. "If Miko tries to bring you along on one of her little 'adventures', I'll weld her to the ceiling, stick worms in her ears, put insects in her underpants, and make Jack play his harmonica." He hissed, loud enough for Miko to hear. Her face had gone a bit pale as she glanced nervously between the tv and Ratchet, not knowing if he was serious or not. Jack let out a huff, thinking his harmonica playing was just fine and not some sort of torture. His mom said it was beautiful and he was an expert at it! But his mom did say a few things that weren't exactly honest. Like when he was seven and she said his hairstyle had looked adorable on him, when he looked like a total dork in front of the boys. Jack still couldn't look at his second grade photo's, his long girly hair too much for him to take. Even the camera-woman had thought he was a girl and said, "What a beautiful little lady you are!"

Jack went to sulk over on the couch with Miko, leaving Raf to Sophie. The boy walked over to the little girl, waiting for her to falter in her chatter as she talked to Ratchet about how she could take on an Insecticon all by herself. Of course, that little pause never did come, and Raf finally tapped her shoulder. She turned around to look at him with wide eyes. Raf fiddled with his glasses a bit. "Sophie...well, I was wondering if you'd...well...maybe want to come racing with me and 'Bee...?" He was a bit hesitant to ask. His older brothers and sisters always said no, busy with homework or dating and whatnot, and his younger siblings were always either busy making mud-pies or playing with their dolls. Jack thought of it a bit childish, only doing it once and a while, and Miko was always jamming around with her guitar when he wanted to ask. Much to his surprise, Sophie perked up at the question.

"Sure!" She said happily. "Can I have the red car this time? I think it goes the fastest! Last time I saw you playin' with it it went all, '_ZOOM-ZOOM'! _And _'VVVRRRRROOOOOMMMM!" _She said, making car noises and she circled around Raf. She stopped suddenly, and pulled on Rafs sleeve. "Come on! Lets go!"

**XXX**

Raf sat happily in the backseat, bouncing a bit at the bumpiness of the road. Sophie was trying to sing along with the song on the radio, and failing miserably at it. Bumblebee was humming along to it as he drove, his electronic voice mingled with the singers voice a strange combination. The remote controlled cars lay in the middle seat, the yellow one next to Raf and the red one on Sophies lap. Sophie was always careful with the little cars, knowing that Raf was always a bit sullen after one broke. He had about a thousand more, but it still broke his heart to see them crushed or broken. Bumblebee was always cautious around them too, always looking at the ground to make sure there wasn't any little cars zooming past his pedes. Of course, he always did that, making sure there weren't any little _Humans _zipping around his pedes. He had grown a sort of sense to know when they around, his audio receptors being able to pick up the small patter of their feet as they walked, or the clomping of shoes and they ran.

"Oh! Raf, I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't _WAIT!" _She squealed. Raf had said he was going to take her to a very super-duper-uper secret clubhouse that himself and Bumblebee went to when they were out. She had swore not to tell anyone, not even Ratchet. And that was nearly impossible for her. But Raf had warned her that if she told about him about it, he would never ever _ever _take her back to it. Sophie had crossed her heart to it, swearing on her life not to tell. She was good at keeping secrets, he should have known that by now. Sophie looked at the window, waiting to see if it was they were there yet. Bumblebee let out a strange sounding noise -a chuckle, she assumed- as they drove on in the dusty plains "What's it like Raffy? Is it big with slides and twirly things? Oh, oh! I know! It's a big, big lab with techno-thingy's and gizmos that you and Bee Bee were workin' on!" She squealed. "I bet there's some kind of laser ray! And, and soda water guns, and-"

Raf put his hand over Sophies mouth, pointing outside. "We're here!" Sophie pushed away his hand, scrambling to the window and looking out the window. At first look, it simply seemed to be the landscape of the dunes and red rock formations. But, taking a second glance, Sophie noticed the large rocks pushed on top of one another, creating a cave-like structure with an fairly large opening on the opposite side. As they got closer, she could see the cave more clearly. The rocks were supported by long, thick logs that were stuck in the ground to support the rocks, and make sure they didn't fall over on top of the things inside. An old looking couch was in the shadowy cave, which Raf and Bumblebee had found outside of somebody's home. After washing it over and making sure there weren't any creepy crawlies in it, they had placed it in their cave. Raf liked to call it his 'Batcave', while Bumblebee didn't even see the reason to name it, and simply called it 'Cave'.

But, Sophie had been right. There were many types of gadgets and gizmos inside. Since there were definitely not any plugs out in the desert, Raf and Bumblebee, with a few wires taken out from his house and a few spare parts that Ratchet had tossed, they made their very own power source for it. Though it had taken several weeks of work and a few singed eyebrows, it was finished and working properly. Bumblebee came to a stop, popping his doors open and allowing the two Humans to get out. Sophie zipped past Raf and the transforming Bumblebee, stopping in front of the cave. There was a large pile of comics in the corner, several remote control cars on the ground and couch, a bean bag with a large blue patch on it, and a large piece of metal shaped a bit like a chair. Though it didn't look like much to others, to Sophie it was a brilliant kingdom. Raf came up beside her, the little cars in both hands. "It's not much, but-"

Sophie snatched up the red car from the boys hands, placing on the ground. She danced around in an antsy way, squirming around and tapping her feet excitedly. "I wanna go 'Zoom-Zoom'!" She chirped, taking up the control and moving the car back and forth. It took Raf half a second to accept the challenge, placing the car on the ground, picking up the control, and zipping off. Sophies car followed in pursuit, her tongue sticking out as she pressed harder against the buttons. Bumblebee warbled excitedly, pumping his fists in the air as he cheered them on. Rafs car swerved to the right, turning back to the two. Sophie made a quick turn, racing over to Rafs. Only a few feet separated the two, and Sophie was wiggling around as she mumbled to her car to go faster. The small cars pace increased, soon side by side with the yellow car. Raf shifted his weight from foot to foot, brows knitting together quickly.

Sophies zoomed past Rafs, and as soon as it did, she went into a victory dance. Raf sulked a moment before realizing that his finger was still pressed on the go button. Before he could even think about taking it off, a yellow blur zipped under Sophie, knocking her off her feet. She didn't seem to fall too hard, as far as Raf could tell. But then a low moan become a full out wail, tears coming down by the buckets. Bumblebee whirred with shock, Raf trying to calm her down a bit. It was only a grazed knee, several droplets of blood leaving the scrape. Bumblebee, having no idea what to do, touched the side of his helm as Sophie threw back her head, crying hysterically.

_-Ratchet, I need some assistance!- _Bumblebee cringed as Sophies wails turned to howls.

_-Bumblebee, for the last time! I'm not going to give you those turbo rockets!- _Ratchet growled through the comm.

The yellow scout shook his head. _-I'm going to ask you about that again Ratchet! Sophies been damaged!- _Of course, Bumblebee had no idea how Humans exactly functioned, and did not know whether Sophies 'injuries' were critical or not. Human blood usually meant something was wrong.

The line went silent, and before Bumblebee could warble out another sound through the comm., a groundbridge appeared from no where. Ratchet jumped through, looking frantic. He had his medical tools clenched in his servo, and looked as though he were about to operate on a mech who had just been ripped in half. "What happened? Where is she?" Ratchet cried in a panicked voice. Bumblebee beeped, and pointed to Raf who was trying in vain to get the small girl to calm down. Ratchet pushed Raf out of the way, scanning Sophie and looking for bruises, gashes, and anything else. But yet, he found none. Squinting his optics, he saw the dried blood on her knee, the tiny bits of thin dead skin hanging onto her flesh. _This _was her _damage? _This was nothing! Getting up, he looked at Bumblebee with a snarl. "You made me stop working on a new hydro-screw diver for _this_?" Bumblebee shied away from Ratchets icy gaze, looking between the dusty ground and the enraged medic. Of course he wouldn't say anything back. Ratchet was of higher class than he was. Besides, he would get a good whack to the helm if he even peeped a word.

Sophie looked at Ratchet with big, wet eyes. "Watchet!" The red and white mech turned to her. Sophie pointed down at her knee. "I got a boo-boo!" She whined. Ratchet cocked his head to the side. _Boo-boo? _Was this another one of her silly words? Ratchet was sure she had her own dictionary of them by now. Maybe it was a Human term for, 'a-tiny-little-cut-that-I-have-to-whine-about'. Sure, Miko or Jack or Raf would make a small hiss if they got a paper-cut, but wouldn't make such a fuss about. "You gotta make it better Watchet! It's gonna get all infectacated!" She whined loudly.

Ratchet laced his arms together, placing them on his chest. "You mean _infected." _He narrowed his optics a bit, still a bit grumpy about not finishing his screw driver for this. "And let me tell you right now, that thing is so small its highly unlikely to get infected." He growled. He was in no mood to be all mushy-gushy with Sophie, catering to her every need and desire. Well, he didn't honestly do that on a daily basis, but to him that was all he did all day long. Sophies lower lip was brought out in a large pout, her green eyes big and pleading. What would she do if it Ratchet didn't make her boo-boo better and it got infectacated?! It would get all gross and pussy and icky! She didn't want something like that on her knee.

Normally, the pouty-pleading look would have melted right through Ratchets spark. _Not today. _He had been up all night conversing with Optimus, hadn't had a single cube of energon today yet, and had to deal with Bulkheads little squeals. It was a stare down; cute vs. extremely annoyed. Bumblebee and Raf could feel the tension between the two, silently betting on who would win. Sophie was being as cute as possible, her big green eyes twinkling, her lower lip stuck out as far as possible, with her little hands folded together in front of her as she looked up at the medic. Ratchet, on the other hand, was anything but _cute. _His arms were folded over his chasis, optics narrowed coldly and his stance firm. Neither moved, staring at each other for a good three minutes. It was Ratchet who broke first, much to Bumblebee's surprise. Well, Raf would soon be getting twenty dollars to add to his piggy-bank. The medic growled at the ground, groaning as he looked back at the grinning Sophie. Her knee had stopped bleeding -though it had barely been doing that since the beginning- and though she still whimpered at the sight of it, Ratchet knew she was just fine.

Jack always carried a few band-aids with him in his back-pack, for that 'just-in-case' reason, and that was really all she needed by Ratchets scanning. Plus, he knew Sophie would bug him until he 'tended' to it. Grumbling something under his breath, Ratchet summoned for another groundbridge. The swirling portal came around thirty seconds after Ratchets call. Ratchet watched Bumblebee and Raf walk in, whispering among themselves and watched as Sophie-

Ratchet rolled his optics at her, grumbling a bit louder.

She _limped _into Base, moaning and groaning and _whining _a bit too loudly. Optimus, who was at the controls, gave Sophie a quizzical look and turned to Ratchet. The red and white mech shot his leader a glance, walking behind the small girl as he gave a large optic-roll, and went back to his quiet, annoyed mumbles. Optimus said no more, and went back to his own work. Sophie acted like her whole leg had been cut off as she hobbled over to the med bay. She could be _very dramatic. _Sometimes it amused Ratchet, but other times, like now for instance, it annoyed him greatly. He quickly scooped her up and placed her on a medical berth, making a quick trip to Jack and back, band-aids in his servo. The raven-haired teen had not questioned Ratchet about the band-aids, and instead went back to his math homework. He knew Ratchet was in a bad mood, and would go as far as to not even glance at the medic just to stop himself from setting Ratchet off. The CMO fiddled with the small band-aid in his servo. It was a simple brown color, unlike the ones June had put on Sophie one time when she fell and cut her arm. They had been pink, and had been decorated with a strange looking white cat in a dress, with a pink bow on its head. Ratchet shivered. For some unknown reason, it gave him the chills just to even think about cats. There was just something about them that made him feel...well, uncomfortable.

Snapping back to reality, he tried to pull off the small pieces of white from the sticky area of the band-aid, and snarled as he realized his fingers were far to big. Glancing over to Sophie, he saw the knowing smile on her face and held out her hands. Ratchet didn't usually take help from others, as his problem was his problem and he could figure it out one way or another. But, with a grunt, he let the band-aid fall from his servo and into Sophies small hands. With ease, she peeled the two pieces off, touching the sticky area as if to see if it actually worked. Carefully handing it back to Ratchet, who tried not to get it stuck on his own metal hide, and clutched it between his fingers. With gentleness that was unknown to him, Ratchet softened a bit as he placed the band-aid over the girls red knee. Pressing it down with barely an ounce of his real strength, he made sure it stuck down on the skin. Sophie poked at it with her finger, just to be sure, and gave Ratchet a wide smile. Something sparked in her eyes, and she scrambled to the other end of the metal berth, craning her neck towards Bulkhead.

The wrecker was still recovering; Ratchet would keep him in the medical bay until tomorrow, when his wounds would be healed. He was sitting on the edge of his berth, rubbing a sore spot on his right shoulder. It was sore, but was getting better. The energon that had been at his feet was now gone, as Miko was about to put some in a thermos. Ratchet, being suspicious as ever, asked her why she would even _think _of doing such an idiotic thing. She knew that energon was toxic, she'd seen what it had done to Raf! Of course, she had answered with a 'I'm saving it for my science project'. Ratchet was very hesitant to even ask _what _that 'project' could possibly be, and his fears were confirmed when she had said in a sickeningly innocent way that, 'I'm going to see what happens when you pour it on a cat'. Of course, she had a certain cat in mind. Mrs. Clark, Jacks next-door neighbor, had a fat old cat named Simon. Miko had one day 'stumbled' upon it, and went to dress it up as a rock-star, when Mrs. Clark came out and hit her on the head with her cane. Simon had scratched her as well, and Miko had sworn to get revenge on the old lady and her dumb cat. Ratchet had confiscated the thermos, and made sure to keep an optic on Miko and make sure he never found any cat hairs on her.

"Bulky! Bulky, lookie over here!" She called over to him. Bulkhead looked over to her, curiosity gleaming in his blue optics as Sophie brought up her leg, poking at her knee with pride. "Lookie! We're Boo-Boo Buddies!" She said proudly.

Bulkhead took a moment to blink before slowly smiling. "Boo-Boo Buddies..." He drifted off into a small chuckle, shaking his head a bit. He looked up, scooting closer to Sophie. Amusement sparked in his optic, and an idea seemed to hatch in his processer. He gave a dramatic gasp, and examined her knee. "Geez 'Soph, what Decepticreep did you mess with to get _that?" _He asked.

Now it was Sophies turn to blink. She took a moment to think before she spoke. "W-Well...well, me and Raf and Bee Bee were out in the desert...and, and this big, _BIG _'Con showed up- No, no, wait,_ FIVE _'Cons showed up...and they-they were _really, really, REALLY BIG!" _She fumbled between her words, and Ratchet listened with amusement. He couldn't remember what she said after that, something about unicorns and giant ducks. He could see Bulkhead trying hard not to laugh, just smiling and nodding and adding a few '_ooohhh'_'s and _'aaaaahhh'_'s here and there. Ratchet smiled, it was a good day.

Yes, not getting enough sleep, talking with Optimus for five straight hours at three in the morning, not getting his daily energon, and having to deal with 'boo-boo's, was a good day for the medic.

* * *

><p><strong>Why yes, in the beginning I WAS hinting Bulkheads sort-of-fatal encounter with Hardshell and his Insecticons. That is going to happen, sooner or later and when I see fit. It won't be soon, maybe sometime during the Summer or after what happens with Sophie and Ratchet. I'm not giving anything away about that, you'll just have to wait :3 I'm so evil...:)<br>**

**And guess what? I AM OFFICIALLY ONE YEAR OLDER!**

**September 25th was the day that the beautiful baby that was me was born! :D Pretty dang special, huh? **

**And I know you people don't want Sophie to be taken away from Ratchet, it's sad and all...but you're making me feel seriously bad! It's gonna be seriously hard for me to write when the time comes for the awful event to take place, but it's just got to happen :( There will be a waterfall of tears on my part, that's going to be certain.  
><strong>


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay, so lets get this thing started!**

**I know this is stupid but...I GOT THE NEW ASSASSINS CREED GAME! I'm a big fan of the game, and had a spaz when I heard it was coming out. And let me tell you, THIS. GAME. IS. FREAKING. AMAZING. O_O For all those Assassins Creed lovers out there, please give the name of your favorite Assassin and tell me why you like them in at least ten words.**

**To Target Ninja-**

**I wasn't planning on using the 'Shadow Zone'...But, I'll find a way to put it in :3 Any requests (As long as they're not pairings...YUCK...) you guys make, I'll do. And Sophie won't be getting into too much trouble for the next few chapters. But, I do love Ratchet in 'daddy-mode' as well :)**

**To Mrs. Ferb Fletcher-inator-**

**That would be totally awsome/epic...but sadly no, that can't happen. You'll just have to put your blasters and energon swords back in the closet.**

**Ratchet: Human, are you talking to yourself again. I thought we- **

**Me: NOOO! DON'T COME NEAR ME! MONSTER, _MONSTER!_**

**Ratchet: What are you-?!**

**Me: CARL! SICK THE BAD MECH CARL!**

**Ratchet: What in the Allspark is Car- OH DEAR PRIMUS! GET THIS BEAST OFF OF ME!**

**Me: Yeah, me and my little squirrel friend made up after you attacked me with him. And by 'made up' I mean locked him in a cage and sprayed water on him every time he bit me :3 I'm just such a great person.**

**Ratchet: NO! GET YOUR DIRTY LITTLE HANDS OUT OF MY CIRCUITS! NO-!**

**Me: ANYWHO...TheChippedCup sadly doesn't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro. If she did own Transformers, there would probably be lots more Ratchet scenes in them...and squirrels...LOTS AND LOTS OF SQUIRRELS...**

**sakiko of soleana! You are the 300 reviewer! Audience, applause! Applause! _APPLAUSE! _Alright, enough with the cheering, that's enough. Calm down, calm down! _CALM DOWN I SAY! _But anywho, thank you for reviewing! Never thought it would honestly get to that big number...thanks guys! Your the best Audience _EVER! _Let the feels come flowing in. Oh God...the feels! _THEY'RE TOO STRONG! _  
><strong>

**Bumblebee: _Alright, to sort this all out, while 'Chip has her giant spasms about 'feels', I'll just go ahead and start the chapter..._**

* * *

><p><em>"LET ME OUT OF HERE!"<em>

The guards who were standing in front of the cell gave a glance to one another, holding the small bats in their hands a little tighter. The guard to the left took a peek inside, looking through the metal bars. The man was scruffy, hair wild and greasy, clothes messy with dirt and other substances he couldn't name. The pale light of the cell revealed the orange color of his jumpsuit, an unknown number tag stitched onto his chest. The guy had been dragged in, screaming his head off about some 'robot' or something. The young guard honestly thought he should be put in a mental ward. He had crossed the line which separated the loonies from the sane ones, and now he was about the king of Limbo-Land. He rambled on to himself about hell-spawned red and white robots, how he would kill that stupid little girl. He talked about that girl a lot, and it was really starting to creep him out. He didn't know much about why he was here; something about breaking into somebodies house with a gun. Some big agent guy had even escorted the guy here, having a 'private talk' with him before leaving. Whatever the guy did, it got lots of attention.

But, what did he know? It was his first time on the job.

The older guard looked through the bars as well, eyes hardened as he watched the pitiful sight of a man. He'd seen lots of bad guys through his life time, and seen some sights that weren't too pretty. But this was just plain sad. The man inside was muttering something under his breathe, writing something on the wall with a piece of stone that worked as chalk. The older guard tapped his bat against the bars, making the man look over to him with a blank stare. "What're 'ya doin' in there?" He called out in a gruff voice. The man remained silent, going on with his insane mutters. "Hey! 45843! I asked 'ya what 'ya were doin'!" Silence. The second guard growled, banging against the bars harder. "Joseph! Stop that mutterin' or I'll come in there and beat 'ya!" He snarled. The other guard winced a bit at his tone, staring at 'Joseph' with concern.

"_Then open the cell.__" _Both were surprised by the answer. He hadn't said a word to them for three months. Joseph slowly walked up to the bars, making both guards tense. A crazed look replaced the once glazed eyes as he grabbed the bars with his blistered, dirty hands. "Come on, come in here and _beat me." _He growled. "Maybe I'll learn a few moves for when I get my hands on that little devil." He hissed before silently backing away, looking back to the ground with narrowed eyes. "That is, if I can get past her robot bodyguard..." The older guard snorted, and looked away. The other guard looked at Joseph devising some plan to short circuit the thing, and he thought quietly. The way he went on about that robot...the more real it seemed. He had even given a full out description of it when the older guard had teasingly asked what it looked like. The young guard shook his head. Crazy was contagious.

A loud rumble shook the room, and the young guard stumbled forward. He looked around, staring at the older guard with worry. "What was that?"

The older guard never did get to answer.

The explosion had already gone off.

Joseph watched with shock as the rubble flew, covering his face with his arms as debris fell through the bars. The door was still intact and connected to its hinges firmly, keeping him him locked inside. Joseph took a look through the blackened hole in the door. The old guard was now burned, boiling flesh covering his body. One of his eyes were missing, leaving a bloody, empty socket. He was nearly broken in two, blood spilling out from his side as he lay on the floor, rubble jamming into his body, guts spilling on the concrete. Joseph quickly averted his eyes, putting his gaze on the other guard. He was laying on a pile of rubble, a gash in his head and his leg bending in an awkward position-broken, he suspected. It was clear he was simply unconscious, as his chest rose and fell as he breathed. It was an uneven sort of breathing, but he was alive all the same. Small tremors shook the earth around him, and Joseph watched with horror as several black and purple robots entered the room. "_Dear God...__..." _Joseph whispered, backing away. They had come for him. The red and white one had sent them to kill him._  
><em>

The three fingered -no, _clawed _metal hand easily ripped the door from its frame. It's silver face expressionless, the mask covering its glowing red eyes. Joseph gulped. This was it. Time to meet his maker. Well, he hoped the devil had plans for that little girl. Joseph watched as they tore away the wall, cornering him in the room as they stood before him. A sleek red one stepped forward, a malicious smirk on his face. "Are you the fleshy called, 'Joseph Santos'?" Joseph nodded his head. "Lord Megatron would like to make a deal with you." It said, and looked at its talons in a sort of uninterested way. "Your freedom," Joseph looked at the thing without fear, but interest. This sounded good. It leaned in close, red eyes gleaming with an emotion Joseph could not pinpoint. "For the delivery of the Human child named, 'Sophie'." Joseph stared at the red robot for a second before giving a twisted smile that would have sent chills down the younger guards spine.

Oh yes, this was very, _very _good.

**XXX**

_"Watchet! Watchet wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!"_

Ratchet groaned, refusing to open his optics to see the pleading face he knew that Sophie had on. What did she want _now? _He had already gotten her a glass of water the first time she had woken him up, and went with her to the 'potty' about six times that night. What more could she ask of him?! "Watchet! You gotta wake up! Today's the big day! Today's the big day!" She exclaimed happily, tugging at his collar plate. Ratchet grumbled a bit. 'Big day'? What 'big day'? Ratchet hadn't been informed of any event happening on that particular day. Had Optimus forgotten to tell him? Ratchet slowly opened his optics, and just as he suspected, she was there right in his faceplate. "Finally Watchet! You're awake! I was waiting for _forever!" _Yes, about three minutes and twelve seconds was forever in her book. She didn't have time for patience! Today was super-duper-uper, so-very-very-very-special-you-could-almost-die-waiting-for-it kind of day! And Ratchet was being a big sleepy-head and not waking up to enjoy the fresh new day! She bounced on his chest, and Ratchet held in a hiss of pain. He was still a bit sore from some sparring with Ironhide. Yes, somehow Ratchet had been persuaded into sparring with the black mech. He had teased Ratchet about not even being able to defend himself from a Human after Miko had used him as a punching bag when she realized Jack had been lying about the Slash Monkey concert.

"What day is it Sophie...?" He said groggily, grunting as he lifted his upper body off of the berth.

Sophie slid down into his lap, bouncing on his leg as she squealed with excitement.

"_IT'S EASTER!" _She burst out.

Ratchet looked at her for a moment, blinking. _Easter? _Oh, he knew what it was alright. He had heard Raf and Sophie talking about it a while back, while Sophie was complaining about moving the equipment around for him. Something about chocolate covered rabbits and sugar-coated chicks. Ratchet shuddered. Oh, he didn't like the sound of this holiday. But, Sophie seemed excited about it, so he would just have to put on a happy face and bear through it. "Of course...now, come on. Get dressed so we can get some breakfast." Sophie nodded and Ratchet scooped her up in his servo, getting off his berth and setting her on the ground. She ran scampered over to the dresser that June had donated to them for her clothes, changing into a pink shirt with a heart on it and a simple pair of light colored jeans. She struggled to get her shoes on, as usual, not having the common sense to sit down and strap them on and instead was hopping to stay balanced as she tried to get the shoe on her foot. She managed without Ratchets help, and after several seconds they were walking down the hall. Arcee was up already, drinking her morning energon. Bumblebee and Bulkhead always slept in late, and Ironhide always went out on patrol early in the morning, Prowl usually accompanying him. Though Ratchet was surprised not to see Optimus there. Thundering footsteps sounded behind them, and Ratchet didn't need to turn to see who it was. The great red and blue mech gave Ratchet a nod, offering a small smile to Sophie who chirped a happy, "Good Morning!" to him.

Ratchet went up to the shelf on the other end of the room, plucking a cube of energon off of it. He took a sip, letting the cool blue substance slid down his throat. Looking over to Sophie, he saw she was already on the couch, bowl of cereal on the table in front of her. Her usual morning routine; a bowl of Froot Loops, a glass of orange juice, and cartoons. The small fridge was in the other corner of the platform, another thing donated from June. Ratchet didn't know how he would survive without that woman. Sophie grabbed her bowl, and scurried to the railing closest to the two mechs and femme. "Otmus!" Optimus looked over the girl with a soft expression. "Guess what day it is!" She said.

Optimus gave a small chuckle. "There are thousands of things to guess. It would be better if you would just tell me." He said.

Sophie nearly spilled her cereal, a few droplets of milk flying instead as she jumped into the air. "It's _Easter!" _She exclaimed happily.

Optimus looked to Ratchet, quirking a metal brow. "Human Holiday." Ratchet grunted. It was a quick summary and Optimus nodded, understanding a bit. Sophie quickly went back to her cartoons as the commercials ended to reveal the intro of the show. Ratchet chuckled silently to himself, drinking his energon in silence.

"Yeah...I think I heard June and Jack talking about some 'Easter' thing." Ratchet turned his head towards Arcee, keeping his silence as he saw her words were addressed to Optimus. "Something about sugar coated chicks..." Arcee drifted off, metal brows pinching together in thought, trying to remember what they had said. Optimus let out a perturbed rumble from his chest, raising both brows. The Human children had talked of many things among them; school, family, seasons, shows, books, culture, and holidays. It was the Autobots main way of learning about Humans, things they couldn't get from the internet. They taught them games, songs, their Earthly ways. Raf had even taught Optimus how to play chess, a game which Optimus greatly enjoyed. Though most things Optimus and other 'bots found hard to grasp. Like why the Humans gave a whole day to celebrate a man called 'Christopher Columbus', who had discovered America. From their knowledge of the internet, people had already been living in America. It was a long, complicated process, but the three Humans managed to get them to drop the topic. Easter was another one of their holidays, one that sounded 'interesting' from Arcees extremely vague description. Optimus quickly shook himself of the thoughts, drinking his energon. He would ask questions later, when the Humans arrived. "June seemed really excited about some big 'Easter Bunny' thing. Had something to do with Sophie." The blue femmes optics looked towards Ratchet this time, and the medic blinked. An Easter Bunny? Raf and Sophie hadn't mentioned anything about that.

But what did a so called 'Easter Bunny' have anything to do with her? Ratchet, much like Optimus, shrugged the thought away, finishing off the cube of blue liquid. This was a question to ask the Humans.

**XXX**

Ratchet, Bulkhead, Arcee, Ironhide, Prowl, Bumblebee, and Optimus, looked at the spectacle before them with curiousity.

They had gone to a secluded area, some cleared out picnic spot that no one used anymore. June had packed several sandwiches, a gallon of lemonade, a bowl of various fruits, and an apple pie. Plastic forks were held in a small, clear plastic container, paper cups and napkins side by side. The table the foods and forks and plastic were placed on was covered in a red checkered cloth, faint stains on it that June had probably not been able to get out. Jack and Sophie were sitting at a separate table, painting eggs with bright colors like pink or yellow. Raf and Miko were not present, as they both had their own families to celebrate the holiday with. Miko had been reluctant to have Easter with her Host Parents, but June had urged her to do it, thinking it as a 'bonding activity'. Miko had called it a possible murder scene, but June had waved her off. Now it was just June, Jack, and Sophie. June was currently sitting in a white wooden chair, camera at her side and a book in her lap. Though the book was a useless thing to have, she wasn't even reading. Her eyes were on Jack and Sophie, a small smile on her face. " ..." The Human woman looked up to the great blue and red mech. "What exactly is, 'Easter?" He questioned.

"Easter is the day when Jesus rose from the dead and went to Heaven." The Autobots gave her a blank stare. June blinked a moment, then suddenly shook her head. "Right. You don't know who he is." She looked to the towering robots. "Jesus is the son of God. He was did miracles, like giving blind people sight and letting a paralyzed man walk. Lots of people were scared of him, afraid of his power. So, he was betrayed by one of his disciples, and was crucified." Bumblebee flinched, the images popping up from the search engines appalling to him. "He died to save us of our sins. They took him off the cross, and put a rock over his tomb. After three days, angels appeared and the rock was moved. Jesus was resurrected, and went up to Heaven with God." Optimus gave a nod, looking distant. Ratchet knew exactly why. The Autobot leader was thinking of the time he had died and had been resurrected. It had been in the middle of the war, after Megatron had stabbed Optimus till he died of energon loss.

The Decepticons took power of Cybertron while the Autobots had been scrambling to devise plans, and grieving over their leader. After some time, a band of young Autobots had gone out on a ship, and searched Cybertron for the one thing they knew could bring Optimus back. _The Allspark. _It had been lost during the war, and at the time, Ratchet had considered the 'bots stupid and foolish to think they could just magically find the mystic item. After several months, most 'bots thought they had been captured by some eradicons, and gave up hope of ever seeing them again. And just at that moment of utter helplessness, they had arrived, carrying the Allspark in their ship. Of course, they had not come back unscathed. A few missing appendages and limbs, several nasty scars and flesh wounds, and all sorts of things First Aid had fretted over. Ratchet had to admit, seeing the poor 'bot short circuit about one of the 'bots having a lost leg was pretty funny to watch. The leader of the band had delivered the Allspark to Optimus' tomb, and planted its power inside of his chest. The look of Megatrons face when Optimus ran out to battle had been priceless. "Yeah, Optimus' been there." Bulkhead said with a chuckle, reaching up to pat the red and blue mechs shoulder.

June looked at the Autobot leader with wide eyes, and opened her mouth to ask a question. They never found out what she was going to ask, as Sophie bounded up to her, pulling at her sleeve. "Jackies mommy, Jackies mommy! We're done with the eggs!" She chirped proudly. The little Human looked up to the Autobots, cocking her head to the side. "Didn't you guys paint some eggs?" As silence greeted her question, Sophie pinched her brows together. "You gotta make paint some eggs! The Easter Bunny would want 'ya to!" And with that, she bounced away back to Jack.

Ratchet looked down at the eggs. How could they paint them? They couldn't even pick them up without splattering them all over their servos! And yoke was _very _hard to get out of your plates. He had figured that out after Miko tried to make a giant cake for Bulkhead after receiving his one hundredth battle scar. They would need an ostrich egg, possibly even a dinosaur egg if they were being to be able to paint them without breaking them. June saw the look on everybots faceplate and gave a knowing smile. She got off of her chair and went to the large boxes she had brought with as supplies for the activities the children would perform. Opening up several boxes, June lifted out a strange, large, oval shaped thing from the box with a grunt. Optimus, being the gentleman he was, took the large thing in his servo to relieve June of the burden. The woman gave him a smile before attempting to empty the other boxes. "I knew something like this was going to happen-"

Prowl raised an optic ridge. "How, may I ask?"

Jack strolled up to his mother, getting the large white objects out of their containers as well. "Moms have this kind of 'Sixth-Sense'. They _know _what's gonna happen, before it happens, before anyone talks about it, and before _you_ even know you need it." He said, trying to push one of the things out with his foot. Prowl gave June a wary glance while Arcee smirked. After spending several months with the Darby's, she knew that was true. June was _always _prepared. Whether it was a hurricane that was yet to be announced or something was about to go wrong, June was on the job. Of course, when she wasn't at work. Arcee helped Jack, pulling the thing out with ease that made Jack huff, mumbling something about how he had muscles and he was a man, and whatnot. After several minutes, the seven white oval objects were laid on the ground before the 'bots who stared at them curiously. They weren't alive, thank goodness, and Ratchet found that they were made of wood, covered with white led paint. His scans were just getting into what wood it was and what store the paint came from when Jack cleared his throat. "So...um...Mom, I think we're all wondering this but...what the heck are these things?"

June simply smiled. "Why, they're Easter eggs of course! Well, for the Autobots." She said, and Optimus looked over the 'Easter egg' curiously. June had made them just for the Autobots. It was a kind gesture, however strange. Very, very strange.

"That's um...nice of you June." Arcee said, looking the 'egg' over in her servo. June carried out several mops, handing each to a 'bot and telling Jack to go and get the paint buckets. He brought out three greens, four blues, five pinks, six yellows, one black, and seven orange cans of paint. June brought out several fairly large tin tubs, dumping the paint inside and pushing it over to the 'Bots. _Sure has a lot of time on her hands. _Ratchet thought as she yelled at Jack for accidentally put a bit of red inside the pink. He knew of no other Human who would do such a big thing for them, and for that, she got his silent thanks. She had already gotten his respect after the fiasco with Raf. Not many would yell at him while he was trying to fix someone, and usually they would get a good aft kicking later. Of course, he couldn't kick a Humans aft without getting a big bloody splat on his pede. He was fine with doing something else. He actually enjoyed it a bit more than simply kicking Miko's-er, _someones _aft. It was actually quite fun to hold them up in the air, their meaningless, stupid threats ringing through the air as they swung around helplessly. Ah yes, Ratchet loved moments like those.

His wonderful thought were interrupted by something clawing at his leg, and the mech looked down to see Sophie trying to climb up his plating, looking at him pleadingly. "Come on Ratchet! You gotta paint an egg! The Easter Bunny would want 'ya to!" She whined.

Ironhide gave him a smug smile. "Yeah Ratch', _the Easter Bunny would want you to." _He mocked Sophies voice, batting his optics at Ratchet.

Ratchet snarled at the black mech. "Laugh now Ironhide. Maybe next time your in the med bay, I'll give you a few 'modifications'. Maybe I could even bring out a bit more of your feminine side..." Ratchet gave a dark smile as Ironhide stared at him in shock for a moment before crossing his arms over his chasis and huffing. Ratchet gave his own smug smile and looked down at Sophie seriously. "Sophie, sweetspark...I don't know if I really want to paint one of those...'eggs' at the moment." He said softly, glancing to the white objects. "Maybe I'll do it another time, or-"

Sophie shook her head, letting go of Ratchets leg to slide down to his foot. She crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head. "No! You gotta do it for the Easter Bunny! He can't put all the eggs out there all by himself! He's still got to go to Miko and Raf! You would be a big meanie if you didn't let him go to them!" She pouted. Ratchet didn't know what it was with this 'Easter Bunny', but he wasn't really up to arguing about it right now. Sighing, he picked up an 'egg', took the mop between his digits, and looked at the other 'bots who were sitting on the grass. Arcee was starting her 'egg', giving it a nice coating of blue and several dots of pink. Bulkhead was messily painting his, splatters of green all over the place. Strange, black scribbles of something were all over it, making it look as though a group of three year old boys had gotten together and decided to finger paint. Bumblebees was a brilliant bright yellow with zig-zagging black lines going across it. It was much neater than Bulkheads, the lines fine and clean. Prowl had his optic ridges pinched together in concentration as he painted black and white lines across the egg, going up and down in a perfect pattern. Ironhide had finished his huffing and was now on the ground, painting his 'egg' with a nice thick layer of black, his 'paintbrush' pressing a little too hard down on his 'egg'.

June and Optimus were sitting next to eachother, Jack next to his mother as he finished off several of his eggs. Optimus looked relaxed for once, a ghost of a smile on his faceplate as he painted his 'egg' delicately with red and blue markings. Ratchet realized the symbols instantly. He was writing in Cybertronian on the egg. The letters were clean and clear and crisp, and Ratchets optics widened as he realized what the great blue and red mech was writing. A prayer to Primus, one that was meant for the happy times to last, and all to be well for your friends, comrades, and family. They had used it often during the times they took power during the war, which was very few. It was used during a time of celebration, and for Optimus, even though they did not believe in the Humans God, this still must have been such a wonderful celebration. They had no holidays for Primus; he did not need any. Everyone praised him, Autobots and Decepticons alike. He didn't need a day to know that everyone loved him, he already knew. But the Humans seemed to need to show their God and his son how much they loved him, and gave a day such as this to him.

Ratchet brushed the thoughts away, and picked up his egg. He looked it over with a cocked optic ridge, and let out a small sigh. It was now or never. Taking a mop between his digits, he dipped it in the red paint. With great concentration, Ratchet put red stripes all around his egg, dots in between the lines. Barely feeling something sit beside him, Ratchet gave a cautious look to his left. Sophie had leaned against his thigh plate, tongue sticking out as she tried hard to paint her egg. It was an absolute mess! The reds were mixed with the greens, the yellows were tainted with blue, and the pinks had faded into the blacks! Sophie looked up at Ratchet with a smile, holding up her egg to him. "Isn't it pretty?" She chirped, marveling over her egg. On any other day with any other person, Ratchet would have called it a wreck, messy, effortless, strange, and other rude comments that came from his processer, or possibly even the internet if he ran out. But, this was not just any other day with any other person. It was Easter, and he was with his sparkling. Ratchet smiled kindly down at the small Human, optics softening as he patted her head ever-so gently.

"It's beautiful." He said with a nod. And as he looked over it more closely, more thoughtfully, it was. It was not lines or dots or letters, it wasSophies own special creation, in which no one could replicate or copy without stealing her whole personality and thoughts first. It was special, and soon became a masterpiece in the old medics optics. He didn't catch the way Ironhides optics narrowed at the two as Ratchet sent waves of praise through their bond, making his little Human feel loved and warm inside.

After several more minutes of painting, everyone deemed their 'eggs' done, and set them down on the grass. June clapped her hands together. "Alright, now time to hide the eggs." She said happily. "So, for those who don't know," She glanced at the surrounding Autobots. "The Easter Egg Hunt is when everybody hides some eggs, plastic or real, and places them somewhere random. You won't be able to go and find your own eggs, and will have to find the ones that the others hid." June explained. "Make sure to hide them somewhere good, and to the 'bots," She gave them a scolding glare. "Please hide the egg somewhere the kids can reach. But not somewhere obvious where you _know _they'll find it." June stared at Bumblebee, the yellow scout merely looking the other way with a shameful croon. "Everyone understand?" After a curt nod from Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead, Prowl, Ratchet, Bumblebee, and an uninterested grunt from Ironhide, June waved them away. "Well, go on then. Start hiding them."

The 'bots and children got to work, making sure no one was tailing them. Bulkhead placed his down into a large green bush, as it easily blended in with its environment. Arcee Was cautious with hers, placing it in the crook of a tree close enough to the ground for the Humans to get at it. Covering it with some foliage, she deemed it ready and ran off. Optimus, being the kind mech he was, gently placed his down behind a tree. Bumblebee speedily took his and hid it beneath a pile of leaves, not the best place to hide a bright yellow giant wooden egg, but that was what he was counting on. He couldn't really help it, it was just his natural Guardian instincts. Along with Ratchet, who hid his in a light bush as close as he could near the picnic spot. It didn't really help that he was sending Sophie 'little' hints through their bond. She was pushing them back, knowing it would be unfair and cheating if she took them. Though she sipped in a few of the small samples, keeping them in her mind. It was a bush, it was light, and that was all Sophie knew. Bulkhead, being Bulkhead, had hid his near the river bank where it could easily be seen, being green. Ironhide could really care less and left his out in the open, and Prowl placed his in a small ditch. Once they deemed all their eggs ready and well hidden, they returned back to the spot where they knew June was.

She stated the rules once more, and let them go. Most of them were on their own -Ironhide, Prowl, and Optimus- while the others were in 'teams'. Though Miko and Bulkhead agreed that though they were together at the moment, whoever saw the egg first would get it. So as Ratchet watched Miko and the big green bot wrestle over a plastic egg, he made a rule that they wouldn't fight over it -he wouldn't do something that demeaning anyway- and would share them. Sophie agreed willingly, and she was currently hopping around the bushes looking for hidden eggs. Ratchet looked down at the basket pinched between his fingers with a raised optic ridge. How was he supposed to put their big 'eggs' inside this tiny basket?! And more importantly, how was he supposed to pick up the normal sized eggs without breaking them?! Sighing with annoyance, he jumped with surprise at the high pitched squeak that rang through the air. Looking around wildly, he felt something small hit against his ankle and looked down to see Sophie hiding behind him. She shook like a leaf, squeaking and whimpering. "Get it Watchet! Stomp it! _Stomp it!" _She screeched, pointing at the bush. Ratchet looked over, tensing. What had she seen? What should he do?

Cautiously, he walked over to the bush, Sophie at least several feet behind him. He quickly put his hands on the bush and ripped the leaves apart to reveal-

A spider.

It was rather big, he had to admit, but it didn't look scary by any means. It did give him the chills, scanning those hairy legs and beady red eyes. Shaking his head, he noticed the arachnid crawling all over a pink plastic egg. He flicked it off with ease and picked up the egg, very glad it was plastic as he placed it into his basket. Rubbing his temples gently, Ratchet looked down at Sophie. "Don't scare me like that." He quickly moved on, not waiting for Sophie to catch up. Ratchet wouldn't yell at her, no. He knew why she was scared. Airachnid always made a bad impression. Glancing over his shoulder, Ratchet let his optics scan the dark scratches hidden beneath her sleeves and pants. His frame shuddered. The scars were still fresh, purple and swollen even though the whole incident had happened only about two months ago. Ratchet knew they would never fully go away, fade yes, but never go away. Sophie didn't seem to mind them, didn't say anything when someone looked at them strangely, just stood their in her usual cheery state. Ratchet didn't know if she knew what they were, or if she simply didn't care. Either way, it never left him. He could remember it all too clearly. He little mangled body in his servos...the cuts, bruises, and slashes across her pale little limbs and face. And all the blood...all the sickening, thick, warm, red blood...so much..._too _much...

"Watchet! Watchet lookie! I found one!"

Ratchet looked over his shoulder, his frame relaxing and optics softening as he looked upon Sophie. She held in her little hands a small painted egg, and Ratchet knew Miko had painted it from the white and black skulls decorating the purple egg. He nodded in approval and she squeaked with joy as she placed inside her woven basket. It was rather small compared to his, even though his own seemed tiny to Ratchet. It was laced with a pink ribbon, with multicolored, cartoon Easter eggs on it. Ratchets was rather plain, barren of any ribbons or little trinkets or anything. And the mech liked it that way. He knew that if he had anything on it Ironhide or Arcee, Miko or Bulkhead would tease and taunt him about it. And Ratchet didn't want to hit someone upside the head today. Moving on, the two searched and searched. They soon found five yellow plastic, four real pink, and three plastic blue eggs before they stopped. The reason? Well, while Ratchet was just reaching for a little purple egg when Arcee swooped down and snatched it away from him. Now, he was currently running at top speed after Arcee, who leaped from branch the branch while laughing at the poor medic below. Sophie was barely keeping up with him, a good yard or two behind him. But Ratchet didn't notice, he was too busy with Arcee. "Give that egg back right now Arcee!" He yowled. "Or I'll chop down every last tree in this slaggin' forest so you'll have no where to run!" The femme only laughed. Before Ratchet could even begin to shout at the femme more, a load of leaves fell right on him. And into his mouth. Spluttering and gagging as the green fell, he coughed at a few leaves before raising his fist in the air. "Frag you-!" _Cough. _"-You fragging femme!" _Cough,_ _cough._ As Ratchet spluttered the blue femme paused to grin at him childishly before disappearing into a large mass of leaves.

Sophie managed to catch up to Ratchet, gasping for breath as she leaned on Ratchets pede for support. "W-Watchet," She took a deep breath. "Can't," Another, "Run," And yet another, "Fast." Sophie plopped down onto the ground with a heavy intake of air, not caring if some eggs jumped out of her basket in the process. Ratchet paused before plopping down on the ground next to her, causing a small tremor as he did. Sophie laid down on the ground, Head resting against Ratchets thigh now. "Watchet?" She asked curiously, and Ratchet hummed quietly in response. "...Do you think my mommy and daddy will come back like Jesus did?" Well, that had been a bit unexpected. Ratchet paused, staring at his pedes. _How should I say this...? _He thought nervously. He couldn't tell her yes, he couldn't lie to her! Shifting uncomfortably on the ground, Ratchet let out a sigh.

"Well...Sophie...you see..." He began, looking everywhere except for the little Human who looked up to him expectantly. "When...when someone dies...they go away and...and..." Ratchet could feel a lump forming in his throat. He tried to swallow it, and his voice came out like a squeaking noise. "They go away...for a...a long, long time..." Sophie blinked up at him curiously as the mech's optics shuddered, the blue dulling, then brightening, resizing and blinking. "And...sometimes...it's hard to tell if...if they will come back." He finally gave a side glance to Sophie, who slowly looked from him to the ground. Ratchet gently cupped his large servo around his tiny sparkling, scooping her up and holding her against his chest. He cleared his throat, the lump vanishing as he looked up to the sky. "But they're always watching. All...All the ones who...who go away. They're watching you, and me, and everyone." His spark was unusually warm, and he quickly ran a systems check to make sure it wasn't over heating. But all of them came back as perfect, or at least close enough. It was strange feeling really, and the mech wasn't sure if he'd felt it before and hadn't noticed, or noticed and didn't care. It was strange, but oddly nice.

Sophie nuzzled into his chest, the warm metal inviting her small body. "I bet they're happy up there with Jesus..." Her sentence drifted off as she looked up as well. The warmth in Ratchets chest only got more intense, spreading to his arms and legs in a nice tickling way. He sighed contently. The birds chirped happily above, not caring if the thing below was made of flesh or metal, only feeling the cheery, loving air and singing out their lovely voices. if Ratchet hadn't been looking up to the sky, so oddly happy and content, he would have noticed the eyes peeking at him throw the bushes. A raven haired boy watched with bewilderment at the rather peculiar sight before him, and the blue femme next to him smiled distantly. Jack had never seen Ratchet happy, more or less _this_ _happy. _It was heart warming and yet a bit disturbing at the same time. Arcee seemed fine with it, so he was trying to at least not be freaked out about it. He had known Sophie and Ratchet had been close...just not _this _close. He thought that Ratchet was just protective, like any bot to their charge. But this was something beyond that, far beyond that in fact. Jack couldn't tell right now from hiding in a bush, but it was something else, more deep, more intense.

He glanced at Arcee. "...This is...something..." The femme smiled down at the boy, a tender sort of grin that leaked a bit of sadness that Jack didn't catch. Ratchet had what she had wanted for so many years, so many eons. She wasn't jealous, no. Just seeing them together like this made her feel awfully alone in the world. Jack understood her, yes, but they couldn't have something like this. Jack already had a mother. Arcee couldn't just snatch him away from June and call him her own. Sighing deeply, she watched the two in silence. Arcee wouldn't try to explain to Jack that Sophie and Ratchet had a bond, the medic would have to let that out on his own good time. She just wanted to show Jack what they had, wanted to show him the softer, better side of the crotchety old medic they all thought they knew. It was rare to see him like this, and that was why Arcee had even thought about showing Jack. The boy -well, teenager, actually- watched with confusion and awe at the sight, and Arcee sat down and relaxed. This had been a good Easter, she had to admit it. Her first Easter, but a good Easter.

_"BULKHEAD! GIVE ME THAT EGG RIGHT NOW-!"_

And then the moment was ruined.

* * *

><p><strong>OH. MY. GOD.<strong>

**Did you guys see the new episode?! Yeah, that is a pretty stupid question. OF COURSE YOU HAVE! Anyway...the ending made me hate cliffhangers.**

**What's gonna happen to the kids?! What will happen the Autobots?! Why did Dreadwing have to die?! Does Megatron always kill off the people most loyal to him?! Does Starscream have a new evil scheme up his sleeve?! Only time will tell!**

**I cannot wait for the new season! I hope it comes out soon though...I need to know what happens! The three are all out on their own, Optimus' dead, Ratchets somewhere else (Probably gonna be teamed up with Wheeljack again...hehehehe...XD) and Megatron has dominated Jasper within mere minutes. By the end of the day it'll be Nevada, then the United States, then the _World_. I just can't believe they ended the season like that! It almost made me go as spazy as I was during the season one finale. Now Optimus is dead! I know it's happened alot, but the way he went out was honorable and totally brutal. I mean, it was like a nuclear bomb dropped on him! Before he went out fighting Megatron or something...it was a horrible way to go with time :( And as for Starscream...he seems a little _too _close to Megatron right now...makes me all suspicious like...hmmmm...**

**And Ratchets speech gave me sooooo much inspiration for Learning to Love! The whole, "We needed that..." was about the saddest thing I have ever seen, and tore my heart into bits :*( Does anyone else want to give their thoughts about the new episode...?**

**And you know...this all could have been avoided if Ratchet had picked up the kids. The littlest things make the biggest difference. Remember that next time, alright 'Doc?**

**AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT/DAY/EVENING!**


	30. Chapter 30

**It's...it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm so sorry I haven't updated at all you guys...I honestly am. I just got this horrible thing called life, and it's quite bothersome at times. I've only been able to fragments of the chapters here and there. But just to be clear, I WILL NOT BE DISCONTINUING THIS FIC. It's my baby. I gave birth to it. I'm not just going to go and abandon it now. I started this thing, and therefore I will finish it. No matter what, I swear on everything I hold dear that I will finish. **

**And OH MY GOD! HAPPY 30TH CHAPTER ANNIVERSARY EVERYBODY! Isn't this exciting?! Unfortunately I don't know when the one year anniversary comes, so it might have already came...and argh...time is not my friend.**

* * *

><p>After Miko had nearly short circuited Bulkhead in an attempt to get a green egg away from him and the big bot had nearly squished his charge with his rather large rump, they had been called back to June. There, she tallied up the scores. It turned out that Bumblebee was the winner, as he had found fifteen eggs and Prowls large 'egg' along with it. He gave his chocolate prizes to Raf, as he couldn't actually eat them. Ratchet and Sophie came in second, with eleven eggs to count. Jack and Arcee got third place with nine eggs, Optimus came in fourth with seven eggs, Prowl came in fifth with five eggs, Ironhide came in sixth with three eggs. He hadn't even been trying of course, but somehow he had come before Miko and Bulkhead. Miko made complaints that they had found many eggs, but her Guardian had been an idiot and squished them all. Bulkhead, in his defense, said that the smell of eggs would be with him forever. Which was Miko's fault. While they were arguing, Ratchet finally noticed something. Miko hadn't been with them when they had started. He ground his metal teeth together, creating an unpleasant screeching noise. It made Miko look over to him, and in her rage she quieted down and cowered. Oh, she was in deep trouble.<p>

"Okay, Ratchet, I can expla-" She really didn't get far before Ratchet picked her up by the scruff, marching over to Optimus and presenting the Human to him.

Ratchet scowled deeply. "Optimus, Miko ran away from her host parents. _Again." _This was not the first time of course. Arcee had began to keep count after the first three times, and now it came out as fourteen, which was now apparently fifteen. Optimus gave Miko a stern look, and she huffed, turning away with her arms crossed defiantly over her chest.

"_Miko..."_

She put out her hand, shaking her head. "Don't lecture me. I've heard it a million times before. 'They care about you', 'you worry them', blah blah blah..." Miko remained silent for a moment, before hanging her head. "I can't do this today. Just...Bulkhead'll drive me back, alright?" Managing to wriggle from Ratchet grasp, she fell to the ground without even a grunt. Bulkhead, sensing the absolute anger from Miko, obediently transformed. Without another second to spare, they were gone. Ratchet sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his optics. That girl could be such a handful sometimes. Not to mention that according to Ratchets scans she was menstruating right now. He knew how vicious Human females could be when they had that. But now a rather awkward silence hung in the air. So, Prowl gave June a ride home, Jack riding Arcee. Silence ensued on their way back to the Base, as Sophie said she was a bit tired. And by 'a bit', she meant totally knocking out in Ratchets seats with drool pooling around her head. As soon as they had gotten to base, he set her down on his berth, and went to his usual work. Fixing things, yelling at bots, making things, typing things, checking things, throwing wrenches as Bulkhead, the everyday sort of thing. He was very annoyed that his wrench-throwing had to be interrupted by a very distraught Fowler.

"_Prime!" _His voice boomed through the entire Base, causing every head to look to his direction. The large blue and red mech stepped forth in front of the small Human. Optimus was not given a chance to speak before Fowler paced back and forth, clutching his head in his hands. "Jesus Prime, where have you been?! I've been calling the Base for the last two hours!" The man growled, and though he sounded angry every mech and femme could pick up the panic in his voice. Optimus furrowed his metal brows at the Human, venting heavily.

"Special Agent Fowler, I am terribly sorry. Myself and the rest of my team were enjoying the Human Holiday Easter with the Darby's." He explained, watching Fowler with worry. The mans head shot up to glare at the metal giant before him, extreme annoyance and fury in his dark eyes, a shadow casting over his already dark expression.

He stopped his pacing, breathing in and out heavily with a sudden rage. "While you and your robot buddies were having yourself a party, we've just been under attack by 'Cons!" That officially grabbed everyone's attention, and even Ratchet suddenly lost all the anger from before to stare at Fowler with shock. For the first time they had relaxed, felt at ease, safe. But while they were away, while they had not been keeping a watchful eye on their adopted home the Decepticons had struck. Fowler crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, that's right. But it wasn't a military base, or a weapons factory, or anywhere we'd thought they'd try to get their slimy claws on." Arcee cocked a brow at the man with confusion. Where else would they go? There wasn't much they wanted from the Humans, so there wasn't many places for them to strike exactly. Where else. The human sighed, rubbing his temple softly. His headache was only getting worse. "They ambushed the prisons. Demolished the whole building. Except one cell." Ratchet didn't like this. He didn't like this one bit. Something in his bones made him shudder. "I think you can all guess who it was," Fowler paused to let out a deep breath. "_Joseph."_

The CMO felt as though he'd just been plunged into artic waters, a bitter cold running within his wires and circuits, making his freeze and stiffen. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Optimus all seemed on edge. Prowl and Ironhide looked to each other with confusion shrugging their shoulders. Of course they hadn't been informed of the disgusting man, there had been no reason to notify them before now. They all thought that Joseph was gone, that he'd rot in prison and never lay another finger on Sophie again. Apparently they were stepped forward, though his legs protested such movement. "H-How...Why..." He managed to breath out. His spark clenched and his stomach curled into a tight knot. He felt ready to purge. Or beat that son of a glitch to a pulp. Optimus put a servo on his shoulder to calm the medic down. "Why would they want _Him, _of all the filth in the entire universe, why would they want _Him?" _Ratchet growled the question more than asked it, and Fowler shook his head. No one knew of the 'Cons sick plans, no one knew what went through their disturbed processers.

"My superiors want to see you. They want you to look at the footage, some of the evidence. Maybe get a clue of what the hell is going on here." Fowler said in a rather grave tone. "And there's a witness. Had to be pulled out of the Hospital to be interrogated." Optimus raised his metal brows at this. Decepticons never left witnesses. This was one very lucky Human if he were alive after a Decepticon ambush. But Ratchet wasn't really thinking about that now. His processer was completely blank, all gears coming to a screeching halt as one single thought popped into his helm. The image of little Sophie -angelic, happy, innocent little Sophie- in the clutches of that monster. The medic didn't even notice Fowler give him the coordinates, yet he somehow managed to numbly reach for the ground bridge control, tap in the numbers, and switch on the portal of swirling light and colors. The mech hadn't even realized that he had stepped into it with the others until the blinding light of the military base and the tingling sensation from the bridge came onto him. Squinting, his optics slowly readjusted to the lights, and he took a look around. The place was large, extremely so. There was barely any color besides the blinking lights of machinery, the base mostly gray or white or black. Ratchet hadn't exactly been expecting it to be neon yellow and electric blue, but it was rather bland. Metal balconies hung overhead, uniformed Humans staring down at the large robotic organisms curiously, others from the ground looking up at them with awe. One man who had been carrying a clipboard hadn't noticed them at all, too preoccupied in his work, and bumped into Optimus' ankle. It was quite amusing to watch him shriek and faint, but this was not the time for any of that.

A few small jets were parked outside, and the 'bots soon realized that they were at an Air Base. The opening of pavement and runways revealed the slowly setting sun out in the distance, and Ratchet cocked his head to the side slightly. It had only been noon when they had left Base. Where were they? Ratchet mentally kicked himself for not paying attention to Fowler, who now shivered in discomfort from the bridge. "Is it normal to feel like your vibrating?" The agent asked Prowl suddenly, but the mech only gave a small shrug. Sighing, the dark man looked around the area at the gawking soldiers. Who wouldn't be after a giant swirling hole appeared randomly and spat out seven giant robots and one shaking human? "What're you looking at? Get back to work!" And just like that, their daily lives resumed, with a few side glances to the 'bots every now and then. Fowler stepped out from the group of giants, feeling extremely uncomfortable being surrounded by fourteen pairs of very large feet. He never liked feeling small. Taking a look around, his brows furrowed. "Braddock? Does-" He let out a frustrated noise from his flared nostrils. "Does anyone know where Braddock is?" The man barked. A few heads turned to gave him a shake, others busying themselves with work and chit-chat. No one seemed to want to take with the man. Fowler growled, ground his teeth together angrily, and grunted towards Optimus. With a nod, the Prime stepped forwards, and cleared his throat.

"Could anyone inform me on the location of 'Braddock'?"

Immediately all life stopped. Though the mech had been soft with his words, they somehow came out booming. Perhaps it was the echo of the base, or perhaps everyone simply sensed that they _had _to listen to Optimus' words. Suddenly, a young woman pilot pointed over to the runway. "H-He just went out there, sir." Voice cracking slightly, she dropped her stack of papers to stand straight and stiff in a salute, a few others -thankfully empty handed- scrambling to do the same. "If there's anything else I can assist you in sir-!"

The red and blue mech gave a small smile. "No, but I thank you kindly for your service to me, and your bravery for your country." The woman looked ready to explode with excitement, holding in her breath to keep herself from shrieking with joy. Only when the 'bots went over to the various planes and jets did she do a small dance around, biting her lip to keep herself quiet. She was very glad that none of her superiors around to see her making a fool of herself. Everyone around stared at her curiously, but understood her excitement. It wasn't everyday one got to talk to, or even see a giant alien robot. And that was why everyone in the base was scrambling down the corner to watch as the one agent and seven bots searched the lot for Braddock. Fowler growled and cursed under his breath, wandering around the dark place. Optimus narrowed his optics, scanning the area. "Special Agent Fowler, I think I have fou-"

_"Fowler!"_

Every helm and head turned to look at the man who walked from behind a fighter jet, smiling broadly. He was tall, extremely so, with a large crooked nose, and a pair of rather excited pale blue eyes. A scar ran across his temple, and not a single hair was on his shiny, bald head. Large hands were folded behind his back, big feet covered with dirty black boots. A rainbow of medals and fancy looking pins adorned his chest, the collar of his uniformed shirt unbuttoned and many wrinkles in the fabric. Looking the human over, Ratchets scanners quickly picked up that this man was Dutch, and a bit drunk. The smell of alcohol simply wafted off of him, and the medic frowned. He'd never heard of a high ranked military officer drinking at such a time. Decepticons had just attacked one of their prisons for goodness sake! This was no time for getting drunk! But Fowler didn't seem to mind one bit as he let a small smile of his own grace his lips, and opened his mouth to speak. Though the agents words came out as a wheeze as the bulky Dutch man threw his arms around the dark man, giving him a death squeeze that Ratchet could assume was a hug. "B-Braddock! Not...Not the t-time!" He managed to squeak, eye twitching and face becoming an unnatural shade of blue. Braddock quickly released him, and instead clapped those large hands onto Fowlers shoulders.

"My friend! How have you been?" The mans voice rumbled deep within his chest. "How is your wife? Your children? You haven't been working too hard have you?" Braddock rambled on, not allowing Fowler to answer any of his questions as a new one popped into his head and spilled out of his mouth. Then Ratchet quickly realized that Braddock didn't even realize that they were there. Either the man was very used to these kinds of sights and paid them no mind, or the alcohol kept them out of his thoughts and onto his friend. Optimus, seeming to know that the man wasn't going to stop talking anytime soon, quickly cleared his throat. Braddock glanced up, looked the mech over, and raised a brow. "Can I help you with something?" He asked casually. Bulkhead gawked at how Braddock just looked at the Prime as if he were some other human interrupting his conversation, and not the leader of an alien race so much more advanced then his own. _This human is definitely drunk..._Ratchet snorted, and crossed his arms over his chasis. At last, something seemed to go on in his head, and he quickly turned away from the confused agent in front of him. "Oh yes! I know you! You work with Fowler, yes?"

Optimus raised an optic ridge. "In a sense, I suppose. But...Braddock, I think it would be best if-"

Braddock scowled. "I'm trying to have a nice conversation with my friend here! Whatever you want can wait. Now Fowlie, what was-?"

The man was cut off as Ironhide pinched the scruff of his dirty shirt collar, lifting him into the air. Braddock didn't so much as squirm as he met the angry mechs gaze, instead challenging it with his own icy glare. "Look fleshy, we didn't come here for no chit-chat. Now, I can either see what a human looks like inside out, or you give us the information on the 'Cons." The black mechs words came out as a low growl, and the soldiers peeking from the base shrunk back slightly. But Braddock remained unfazed by Ironhides words, and a bead of sweat ran down Fowlers forehead. He really didn't want to deal with all the paperwork and threats of being fired for the death of a military officer. Of course, Optimus would never allow such a thing from one of his own, and placed a hand down onto Ironhides shoulder. It didn't really stop the thoughts of squishing the annoying flesh-bag, but it did remind him of the consequences of doing it. Optimus' stern gaze softened slightly looking down at the human dangling in the black mechs grip.

"Officer Braddock, what my comrade meant to say was that, although I know you must want to converse with Special Agent Fowler, we must be getting to business." Braddock, in his slightly drunken state, acted like a child and huffed slightly before nodding his head. Ironhide placed the man down harshly, dropping him a good seven feet from the ground. Braddock looked up at the mech with a scowl, the Autobot only letting out a sniff. Straightening some of his badges and medals, along with adjusting his blazer, Braddock waved a hand to them as he walked back into the hangar. Everyone had vacated the area, and Prowl looked around before cautiously turning to Optimus. Their leader seemed to trust these humans well enough, but Prowl couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved by them. Though he knew that they could easily dominate them in any sort of fight, it didn't settle his buzzing nerves at the thought of an ambush. Ironhide seemed to get the same feeling and gripped hold of the blaster on his arm. Arcee, seeing the tenseness in her team mates, gently laid a hand on Ironhides forearm.

A door opened from one of the platforms above, revealing two nurses, three doctors, and a man in a wheelchair. Well, he couldn't really be called a man. He looked barely out of boyhood, maybe somewhere around only twenty or twenty-one. A bloody bandage was around his forehead, the lump the white cotton was wrapped around visibly popping out from his skull. His leg was in a blue cast, along with one of his arms. His mouth was open slightly, revealing a few of his now chipped teeth. Scratches and bruises covered what was visible of his arms and legs, a nasty bruise on his cheek and stitches going from his chin to his left ear. Sandy brown hair poked out from the white bandage on his head, green, nearly brown eyes looking rather solemn at the moment. He looked at them rather defiantly, trying to raise his chin. It didn't work out well for him though, as he immediately cringed from the pain. Subconsciously, Ratchet did a small scan of the man. Major blood loss, three cracked ribs, a small concussion. It was amazing the man was even in a wheelchair and not hooked up into monitors at the hospital. Optimus stepped forwards slightly, and suddenly the mans defiance turned to sudden fright and he tried to scoot back in his wheelchair. The mechs glowing blue optics softened. "Do not be alarmed. We mean you no harm." He spoke softly towards the human. "We are simply here to ask you a few questions."

The main raised a brow, though it was hard to recognize such an action as part of his eye was slightly bruised. "Yeah?" His voice was slightly hoarse.

Ratchet took a two steps forwards. "Yes. Tell us what happened at the prison." Blunt and straight to the point. Ratchet wanted -_needed- _to know why the hell those Decepticons wanted Joseph so badly as to demolish an entire building.

The mans grip visibly tightened on the arm of his wheelchair. He took a breath. "It...it was a regular day. Or at least I think it was. It was my first day." He let out a weak chuckle. "I was set up at the post outside this one guy's cell, Joseph I think. Me and Roger. He started rambling on about all this crazy junk: red and white robo-bastards, some little girl, his revenge. I didn't really listen to him that much. But he wouldn't shut up about it." Ratchet tensed. "Then came the quake. Everything started shaking and suddenly the wall exploded. I didn't know what the hell to do, and honestly, I couldn't do much. Everything hurt...and...it get's kinda...fuzzy from there..." His eyebrows scrunched together in thought, racking his brain for anything at all. "There...there was these big metal guys...couple purple ones...and this one red one..." _Knockout. _"They...talked about something. There was a name...a name...what was the name...?" He suddenly growled out, slapping his palm on the arm of his wheelchair. "S...Sa...No...Sss...Sophie. Yeah...yeah Sophie..." All eyes and optics went to Ratchet. The medic had gone rather stiff, optics unblinking as he stared blankly out into space. His processer had gone completely blank by this time. Only one word managed to wrangle it's way through the gears of his brain. No. _No no no no no no no no no no. _**No. **

Optimus nodded, his metal jaw tight. "Thank you for your time..." He paused.

The man nodded his head. "Will. Will Lennox."

The Autobot leader dipped his own head. "We wish you well."

Ratchet didn't exactly know what happened beyond that point. One second he was being led out of the hangar, the next he was back inside of the Base. Walking like a zombie, the red and white mech went to his quarters deftly. His optics only regained their sight when they saw the sleeping Sophie on his berth. A blanket was wrapped tightly around her small form, her hand beneath her head, and her breathing soft and light. Tense joints relaxing slightly, Ratchet sighed. Though his relief was short lived, as he looked down and saw a basket at his feet. Carefully bending down, he examined the basket carefully. He'd been expecting something like a time-bomb, or a death threat, or at least something life threatening. All he saw was a fluffy plush bunny rabbit, three large chocolate shaped rabbit, several colorful plastic eggs, an Easter themed coloring book, and lots of colorful hay cushioning the items. The medic stared at the basket in bewilderment. How had it gotten here in the first place? June and Jack couldn't get into the Base without the Autobots, Miko, though rather sneaky herself, couldn't simply waltz into the room and place the basket down, and Raf wouldn't dare think about coming in without the 'Bots permission.

He'd only begun to deduce who it could've been when movement came from the corner of his optic. Looking up, he balked at the sight of a cream colored rabbit staring back at him. The fluffy creature twitched his nose, the pink bowtie wrapped around its neck looking rather strange on the thing. It was rather large for its species, but the mech didn't exactly take notice of that. He was still stuck on the fact that there was _a rabbit in his quarters. _Ratchet turned his head, preparing to call for the others to see the rabbit, but when he turned back to examine the creature once more, it had vanished. Ratchet simply stared at the place where the rabbit had once been, optics wide. The edge of his mouth twitched. Placing a servo on his helm, he stood up and shook his head. "Oh Primus I'm losing it." He muttered. Well, it was easy to think he was, with all that was going on lately. Slowly walking over to his berth, he carefully cupped his servos beneath Sophie's sleeping form. He was careful not to rouse her, though it was quite awkward trying to get his body onto the metal slate without moving around his servos. Managing to finally get himself settled, he set the child down onto his chasis. He placed his servo over her was a blanket, though he already knew she had one around her. Ratchet was simply trying to comfort himself, trying to make himself believe that Sophie was safe.

But he couldn't believe a lie, no matter how good it sounded.

He knew Sophie wasn't safe. Decepticons were out there, looking for her. Worse. _Joseph _was out there looking for her. Ratchet knew it was foolish to think that he could keep her cooped up in the Base everyday, all day. She was a human, she needed the fresh air and the outside world. Besides, the rest of their human companions would become suspicious if he did such a thing. But he couldn't just let her out into the open for all the Decepticons to see; they knew the Autobots were somewhere in Jasper, and would be prowling every inch of the town to find them. He didn't know why they wanted Sophie, and he wasn't ready to find out why either. Ratchet tried to close his optics, tried to recharge, but it didn't work.

The medic didn't recharge at all that night.

He was far to busy worrying about the possible capture, _death, _of his sparkling.


End file.
